THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


ARNOLD'S  EXPEDITION.— DESCENDING  THE  CHAUDIERE. 


AMERICAN  HISTORY. 


BOSTON: 
G.    C.    RAND  — WM.   J.    REYNOLDS    &    CO. 


LIGHTS    AND    SHADOWS 


AMERICAN   HISTORY 


BY  THE  AUTHOR  OF 


PETER    PARLEY'S   TALES, 


BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED    BY    GEO.   C.  RAND,    CORNHILL. 

TVM.  J.  REYNOLDS  AND  COMPANY. 

1852. 


PRESS  OF  GEORGE  C.   RAND  &   CO. 


CONTENTS 


I  AGE 

INTRODUCTORY  SKETCH,          ...  5 

GREENLAND, 91 

THE  NORTHMEN  IN  AMERICA,        ....  34 

COLUMBUS, 

••«...  44 

EL  DOKADO,          ....  50 

MIRANDA  HURTADO,               .        .  73 

THE  TYKANT  AGUIRRK,         •       •       ,  79 

THE  BUCCANEERS,          »        •        »  95 

DAME  GODIN,    ....  107 

ALEXANDER  SELKIRK,    ...  117 

THE  JESUITS  IN  PARAGDMT,  ....  128 

BOLIVAR> 143 

THE  DICTATOR  FRANCIA,        ...  159 

TOUSSAINT   L'OUVERTURE,         ...  Igi 

A  SALLE  AND  HENNEPIN,     ...  193 

THE  PILGRIMS, 2Q(5 

ALEM  WITCHCRAFT,     ...  218 
j  GENERAL  PUTNAM, 


IV 


CONTENTS 


LEXINGTON  AND  BUNKER  HILL, 
ARNOLD'S  MARCH  TO  QUEBEC, 
THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE, 
ARNOLD'S  TREASON, 


254 
270 
281 

298 


HE  continent  of  America  stretches  from  the 
polar  regions  of  the  north,  almost  to  the 
frozen  zone  of  the  southern  hemisphere. 
Its  whole  length  is  nearly  nine  thousand 
miles,  and,  bent  upon  the  surface  of  the  globe,  em- 
braces more  than  one  third  of  its  entire  circumfer- 
ence. It  occupies  about  one  third  of  the  land  upon  the 
earth.  Its  inhabitants  may  be  estimated  at  forty-five 
millions,  or  one  twentieth  part  of  the  entire  popula- 
tion of  the  globe. 

In  comparison  with  the  eastern  continent,  America 
is  marked  with  a  scale  of  grandeur  in  several  of  its 
physical  features.  The  great  chain  of  mountains 
which  extends  through  both  portions  of  the  continent, 
from  Cape  Horn  to  the  borders  of  the  Arctic  ocean,  is 
the  longest  in  the  world.  Lake  Superior  has  a  sur- 
face exceeding  that  of  all  the  fresh  water  lakes  of 
Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa.  The  river  Amazon  bears 
to  the  ocean  as  great  a  volume  of  water  as  the  united 
streams  of  Europe.  The  mountains  of  South  Amer- 
•  1* 


8       LIGHTS    AND    SHADOWS    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

the  age,  and  lifted  above  himself,  with  a  still  smaller 
force,  mastered  the  great  empire  of  the  Incas.  Other 
Spanish  leaders,  like  a  flight  of  eagles  and  vultures, 
pounced  upon  different  portions  of  the  carcass,  tear- 
ing it  limb  from  limb ;  and  thus,  Florida,  Mexico,  the 
isthmus  which  joins  the  two  continents,  and  the  entire 
peninsula  of  South  America,  with  the  exception  of 
Brazil  and  Guiana,  fell  into  the  greedy  grasp  of  Spain. 
Cuba,  the  finest  island  on  the  face  of  the  globe,  and 
some  other  of  the  West  India  islands,  fell  also  to  the 
•.share  of  that  kingdom. 

While  Spain  thus  reaped  the  largest  part  of  the 
harvest,  the  other  European  powers  seized  upon  the 
remainder.  The  West  India  islands  were  distributed 
among  France,  England,  Denmark,  Spain  and  Hol- 
land. Brazil,  a  territory  nearly  equal  to  all  Europe, 
and  enjoying  unrivalled  advantages  of  soil  and  climate, 
was  appropriated  by  Portugal.  The  great  valley  of 
the  St.  Lawrence  was  taken  by  France,  and  our  At- 
lantic borders  were  settled  by  the  English.  Thus, 
America  was  partitioned  out  among  the  powers  of 
Europe  on  the  principles  of  a  scramble,  in  which  each 
of  the  parties  seizes  upon  what  he  can  get  without 
scruple,  or  inquiry  even  as  to  the  rights  of  possession 
thus  assumed.  One  principle  seems  to  have  been 
adopted  in  all  these  measures,  and  that  is,  that  enlight- 
ened, civilized  and  christianized  man  may  usurp  the 
mastery  over  his  savage  brother,  and  compel  him  to 
submission  even  at  the  point  of  the  sword.  Our  Eng- 
lish forefathers  seem  indeed  to  have  entertained  some 
notions  of  justice  towards  the  savages,  for  they  pre- 
tended to  recognize  their  independence,  and  to  pur- 


INTRODUCTORY   SKETCH.  9 

chase  their  lands ;  but  the  result  of  intercourse  between 
them  has  been,  not  the  improvement  and  civilization 
of  the  Indians,  but  their  gradual  extirpation  from  the 
homes  of  their  fathers.  Among  all  the  arts  which 
Christianity  and  civilization  brought  to  these  western 
shores,  the  art  of  improving  the  social  condition  of  the 
Indian  was  not  to  be  found.  The  course  of  events  in 
the  Spanish  portions  of  the  continent  was  marked 
with  atrocities  toward  the  natives,  the  recital  of  which 
fills  the  mind  with  horror.  A  few  pious  priests  devo- 
ted themselves  with  energy  and  success  to  the  instruc- 
tion of  certain  Indian  tribes ;  but  with  these  slight 
exceptions,  the  march  of  Spanish  power,  upon  this 
continent  was  everywhere  traced  by  the  blood  of  the 
native  masters  of  the  soil.  A  retribution  as  fearful  as 
the  crime  itself  has  followed  in  the  lapse  of  centuries. 
Spain,  four  centuries  ago  a  leading  power  in  Europe, 
after  being  gorged  by  the  spoils  of  her  transatlantic 
dominions,  sunk  into  a  long  nightmare  of  ignorance 
and  fanaticism,  to  be  at  last  awakened  by  the  terrific 
scenes  which  followed  Bonaparte's  invasion  nearly 
forty  years  ago.  The  echoes  of  those  shrieks  which 
filled  the  valleys  of  Mexico,  the  heights  of  the  Cordil- 
leras, and  the  table-lands  of  Peru,  four  hundred  years 
before,  were  now  heard  in  the  cities  and  plains  of 
Spain  herself.  Her  driveling  monarch,  as  weak  as 
Montezuma,  bargained  away  his  crown,  and  while  his 
people  were  butchered,  and  his  capital  plundered,  he 
contented  himself  with  weaving  fantastic  garments  for 
the  image  of  the  Virgin.  Since  that  fearful  day,  this 
unhappy  country  has  been  the  constant  scene  of  civil 
warfare,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  brightest  colonial 


JO     LIGHTS    AND    SHADOWS    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

jewels  in  the  crown,  Mexico,  Peru,  Chili,  one  by  one, 
had  dropped  away,  till  not  an  inch  of  land  remains 
upon  the  American  continent  in  the  possession  of  tha« 
power  beneath  whose  flag  the  New  World  was  dis- 
covered. The  conquests  of  Cortez,  Pizarro,  Almagro, 
and  Valdivia,  mighty  as  they  were,  have  proved  as 
baleful  as  they  were  wicked,  and  at  last  have  van- 
ished from  the  grasp  of  the  spoiler.  How  stupendous 
is  the  lesson  which  Providence  has  thus  afforded,  that 
even  in  the  history  of  nations,  as  in  that  of  individuals, 
violence,  fraud,  and  perfidy  are  connected  with  inevi- 
table retribution. 

Among  the  most  interesting  phenomena  of  Ameri- 
can history  are  those  events  which  relate  to  our  own 
country.  In  the  year  1776,  the  thirteen  United  States 
of  America  declared  themselves  independent;  and 
since  that  period,  we  have  maintained  our  stand 
among  the  sovereign  nations  of  Christendom.  We 
have  since  been  making  a  great  experiment  in  politi- 
cal philosophy,  which  is  to  determine  the  question 
whether  the  people  of  any  country  are  competent  to 
govern  themselves.  The  prevailing  theory  of  former 
ages  has  been,  that  the  great  body  of  the  people  were 
too  ignorant,  corrupt  and  degraded  to  be  entrusted 
with  power,  and  that  the  many  must  therefore  be 
governed  by  the  few.  This  theory  has  led  to  the 
establishment  of  monarchical  institutions,  which  pre- 
vail in  almost  all  countries  throughout  the  globe. 
But,  as  the  reformers  in  Europe  were  protestants 
against  the  spiritual  dominion  of  papacy,  so  were  the 
founders  of  our  political  institutions,  repudiators  of 
kings  and  piinces.  They  denied  the  divine  right  of 


INTRODUCTORY    SKETCH.  11 

certain  individuals  to  reign  over  mankind;  they 
asserted  that  the  end  of  government  was  the  greatest 
good  of  the  governed,  and  that  the  people  were  at 
once  the  only  safe  depositary  and  legitimate  source  of 
political  power. 

Upon  these  principles,  they  proceeded  to  erect  the 
fabric  of  government,  the  foundation  of  which  is  laid 
in  our  admirable  constitution.  This  went  into  opera- 
tion in  17S9  ;  and  after  an  experiment  of  almost  sixty 
years,  we  may  fairly  assume,  in  the  face  of  the  world, 
that  this  great  experiment,  upon  which  Ave  entered,  has 
been  attended  with  complete  success.  There  may  be, 
and  indeed  there  doubtless  are,  other  nations  which 
surpass  ours  in  certain  refinements ;  but  if  we  regard 
the  general  happiness  of  the  great  mass  of  the  people, 
our  country  is  without  a  rival.  If  we  are  without  the 
palaces  of  Europe,  so  we  are  without  its  paupers.  If 
we  have  no  princes  of  the  blood,  no  titular  nobility, 
and  consequently  no  courtly  standard  of  etiquette,  so 
we  have  no  starving  millions  perishing  for  the  staff 
of  life.  If  we  have  no  costly  galleries  of  paintings  or 
statuary,  we  have  the  substantial  comforts  of  life  in 
abundance.  If  we  have  no  architectural  monuments 
which  carry  us  back  to  remote  antiquity,  we  have 
present  content,  and  happy  prospects  for  the  future. 
Most  of  the  blessings  Avhich  government  seems  com- 
petent to  bestow,  have  flowed  from  our  political  system; 
and  the  great  question,  whether  the  people  of  this 
country  are  competent  to  govern  themselves,  may  be 
regarded  as  triumphantly  determined  in  the  affirma- 
tive. 

Our  example  has  not  been  without  its  effect  upon 


12     LIGHTS    AND    SHADOWS    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

Europe,  and  thus  young  America  has  taught  lessons 
of  great  import  to  the  Old  World.  Throughout  Eu- 
rope, the  high  claims  of  legitimacy  have  been  weak- 
ened. The  rights  of  man  are  more  extensively 
recognized,  the  obligation  of  the  governing  power  to 
secure  the  happiness  of  the  people  at  large,  is  gene- 
rally admitted. 

But  while  the  republican  institutions  of  these  Uni- 
ted States  have  resulted  in  securing  the  peace  and 
happiness  of  this  nation,  it  must  be  admitted  that  other 
experiments  of  the  kind  on  this  continent  have  been 
attended  with  less  happy  results.  Within  the  last 
thirty  years,  ten  republics  have  sprung  up  from  the 
Spanish  dominions  in  America ;  yet  it  is  to  be 
remarked  that  in  none  of  these  have  the  people 
enjoyed  the  blessings  of  good  government.  All  of 
them  have  been  torn  by  faction,  shaken  by  revolution, 
and  desolated  by  civil  war.  It  is  evident,  therefore, 
that  republican  institutions  alone  are  not  competent  to 
confer  happiness.  These  are  indeed  but  instruments, 
and  are  good  or  ill,  as  they  are  used  by  wisdom  or 
folly.  In  the  hands  of  a  sagacious  and  virtuous  peo- 
ple, they  bring  peace  and  prosperity ;  but  entrusted 
to  the  ignorant  and  vicious,  they  are  even  worse  than 
despotism.  In  considering  the  question  why  the 
southern  republics  of  America  have  thus  resulted  in 
failure,  we  shall  easily  discover  the  answer  in  the 
fact,  that  the  people  at  large  are  ignorant,  fanatical, 
and  profligate.  In  all  these  countries,  a  religious 
system  prevails,  which  enslaves  the  mind  of  the  mass, 
keeps  them  studiously  in  ignorance,  and  fits  them  to 
be  the  tools  of  intriguing  and  aspiring  leaders.  It  is 


INTRODUCTORY  SKETCH.  13 

a  fact  not  to  be  overlooked,  that  it  is  only  in  countries 
where  the  Protestant  religion  predominates,  that  the 
people  have  been  raised,  by  education  and  freedom  of 
inquiry,  to  that  pitch  of  intelligence  and  virtue,  which 
are  indispensable  to  the  success  of  liberal  institutions. 

It  is  sometimes  said  by  European  critics,  that 
society  in  these  United  States  is  far  behind  the  high- 
est standard  of  civilization  in  the  other  hemisphere. 
We  have  already  admitted  that  in  some  things  we 
cannot  rival  the  refinements  of  Europe,  but  if  the 
whole  mass  of  society  be  weighed  in  the  balance,  we 
maintain  that  the  people  of  these  United  States  will 
show  a  higher  average  of  all  the  elements  of  civiliza- 
tion— of  knowledge,  art,  comfort,  virtue,  and  power, 
physical,  moral  and  mental,  than  any  other  nation  on 
the  face  of  the  globe.  In  comparing  our  progress  with 
that  of  the  old  and  luxurious  countries  of  the  eastern 
continent  in  the  refined  arts  of  poetry,  painting,  sculp- 
ture, music  and  architecture,  our  inferiority  must  be 
admitted;  but  in  all  that  belongs  to  the  substantial 
business  of  society,  the  master  spirits  of  the  western 
world  have  shown  themselves  competent  to  cope  with 
those  of  the  eastern ;  and  measuring  nation  by  nation, 
the  comparison  is  incontestably  in  our  favor. 

We  are  sometimes  spoken  of  as  without  a  history, 
and  deficient  in  those  elevating  emotions  which  spring 
from  the  memories  of  the  mighty  past.  This  may  be 
true,  yet  we  have  our  compensation  in  the  inspiring 
hopes  presented  by  the  brilliant  prospects  of  the 
future.  In  respect  to  those,  who  watch  our  progress 
with  jealous  and  disparaging  hostility,  the  era  of 
youth  is  past ;  the  present  institutions  of  Europe  must 
vii.— 2 


14     LIGHTS    AND    SHADOWS    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

be  regarded  as  on  the  wane,  and  tending  to  dissolu- 
tion. The  glory  of  crowns,  and  thrones,  and  dynas- 
ties, must  be  sought,  not  in  the  present  or  the  future, 
but  in  the  days  that  are  forever  gone.  With  us,  the 
career  of  improvement  and  of  glory  lies  in  the  near 
and  certain  prospect  before  us.  Under  these  circum- 
stances, we  may  easily  bear  the  gibe  of  the  scoffer ; 
and  while  he,  standing  in  the  midst  of  decay,  point? 
to  the  splendors  of  the  past,  we,  in  the  midst  of  pres- 
ent prosperity,  shall  find  ennobling  inspiration  in  the 
cheering  anticipations  of  a  happy  future. 

We  are  aware  that  there  are  persons  among  us  who 
indulge  more  desponding  views  than  these.  There 
are  individuals  in  all  countries,  who  are  disposed  to 
judge  the  world  only  by  its  clouds  and  its  tempests ; 
those  who  never  seem  to  bear  in  mind  that  in  all 
lands  there  is  more  sunshine  than  shadow.  These 
maintain  that  we  are  sinking  rather  than  rising  in  the 
scale  of  civilization.  In  their  view,  vice  and  crime 
are  on  the  increase.  The  people  are  becoming  less 
intelligent,  and  the  heart  of  man  grows  more  and 
more  perverse.  The  obliquity  of  these  views  will 
appear  manifest  by  the  consideration  of  a  few  obvious 
facts. 

Let  us  look,  in  the  first  place,  at  the  provision 
already  made  for  education.  Not  only  are  the  higher 
seminaries  increased  throughout  the  country,  but  in 
almost  every  state  of  the  Union  a  system  of  common 
school  education  has  been  adopted.  Throughout  New 
England,  every  child  has  the  opportunity  of  obtaining 
instruction,  free  of  charge,  in  the  ordinary  branches 
of  an  English  education.  In  the  state  of  New  York, 


INTRODUCTORY    SKETCH.  15 

the  same  system  prevails,  and  there  are  more  than  ten 
thousand  district  schools  in  active  operation  there.  In 
other  parts  of  the  country,  a  similar  state  of  things 
exists,  or  measures  are  in  progress  to  ensure  this  result. 
Everywhere,  the  importance  of  education  is  appre- 
ciated, and  everywhere  education  is  easily  obtained. 

What  a  mighty  contrast  does  this  view  present, 
when  compared  with  that  which  this  country  exhibited 
at  the  opening  of  the  present  century.  New  England 
was  then  the  only  portion  of  the  nation  which  had 
undertaken  to  educate  the  whole  mass  of  the  people. 
In  the  other  states,  universal  instruction  was  either 
regarded  with  aversion,  or  as  a  mere  chimera.  Nor 
are  these  facts  the  most  striking  evidence  of  change 
and  improvement  upon  this  subject.  Not  only  are 
the  means  of  education  extended,  but  the  standard  of 
instruction  is  far  more  elevated.  Forty  years  ago, 
grammar,  geography  and  history,  were  excluded  from 
most  of  the  common  schools  of  the  country.  They 
are  now  introduced  into  nearly  all.  There  are  at 
least  a  dozen  popular  geographies  in  use  among  us, 
and  nearly  half  a  million  of  these  are  annually  sold 
for  the  use  of  our  public  seminaries.  Beside  this,  in 
the  larger  towns  throughout  the  country,  there  are 
numerous  schools,  accessible  to  all,  where  higher 
branches  of  instruction,  such  as  rhetoric,  natural  and 
moral  philosophy,  botany  and  chemistry,  are  taught. 
Thus,  the  sciences,  which  forty  years  ago  were  but 
as  a  sealed  book,  except  to  a  favored  few,  are  now  laid 
open,  and  within  the  reach  of  nearly  all.  In  our 
public  schools,  the  children  are  taught  more  of  the 
wonders  of  science  than  were  revealed  to  Sir  Isaac 


16     LIGHTS    AND   SHADOWS    OF    AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

Newton,  for  they  enjoy  the  results  not  only  of  his 
profound  researches,  but  those  of  Herschel  and  La 
Place.  At  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
there  were  not  probahly  ten  expert  chemists  in  the 
United  States,  and  there  are  now  many  thousands. 
A  botanist,  forty, years  ago,  was  a  great  rarity  among 
us ;  but  botany  is  now  as  familiar  as  household  goods. 
In  short,  the  mysteries  of  science  are  mysteries  no 
longer.  The  mass  of  the  people  have  broken  into 
the  arcana  of  nature,  and  possessed  themselves  of  its 
wonders.  Knowledge  is  everywhere  diffused ;  the 
standard  of  education  is  elevated ;  a  love  of  learning 
has  pervaded  the  whole  mass ;  our  very  streets  are 
teeming  with  literature,  to  be  devoured  by  the  quick- 
ened multitude.  The  toiling  million  are  rising  from 
their  prostrate  condition  upon  the  earth,  and  are 
becoming  reading,  thinking,  reflecting  men. 

These  are  incontestable  facts ;  and  how  are  they  to 
be  reconciled  with  the  ideas  of  retrogradation  which 
have  been  suggested  ?  The  truth  is,  society  is  advanc- 
ing with  the  force  of  an  irresistible  tide  in  its  intellec- 
tual career.  Already,  it  has  made  great  progress. 
Forty  years  ago,  the  steamboat  was  but  a  dream  of 
the  schemer ;  it  is  now  familiar  to  all.  Fifteen  years 
since,  the  railroad  was  but  a  chimera ;  it  is  now  as 
common  as  the  highway.  The  whistle  of  the  loco- 
motive, once  so  wild  and  startling,  excites  as  little 
emotion  now  as  the  rumbling  of  the  wagon-wheel. 
These  mighty  improvements  are  apt  illustrations  of 
the  progress  we  have  made  in  science  and  art.  In 
the  year  1800,  we  travelled  on  foot  or  on  horseback, 
at  the  rate  of  five  miles  an  hour ;  we  now  glide  along 


INTRODUCTORY    SKETCH.  17 

in  the  locomotive's  train,  almost  with  the  swiftness  of 
'he  eagle. 

Such  is  the  onward  march  of  society  in  less  than 
half  a  century.  Nor  let  it  be  supposed  that  we  have 
reached  the  end  of  improvement,  or  that  the  age  of 
discovery  is  over.  A  short  time  since,  the  arts  and 
sciences  were  confined  to  the  few  ;  they  are  now  in 
the  hands  of  the  many.  A  hundred  thousand  ingen- 
ious heads  and  strong  hands  are  this  day  thundering 
at  the  gates  of  knowledge,  and  demanding  entrance 
into  its  hidden  places.  Upon  the  sea  and  upon  the 
land,  in  field  and  mine  and  cavern,  in  alkali  and  acid, 
in  the  fleeting  air  and  subtle  gas,  in  mineral  and  metal, 
in  light,  heat  and  electricity,  in  the  cloud  and  the 
tempest,  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  and  at  the  extrem- 
ities of  the  poles — everywhere,  human  philosophy  is 
at  work  with  its  crucible  and  its  blowpipe,  its  micro- 
scope and  telescope,  its  hammer  and  wedge,  seeking 
the  discovery  of  new  facts,  or  the  solution  of  old 
phenomena.  Let  it  not  be  supposed  that  these  re- 
searches can  be  in  vain.  The  temple  of  science  is  of 
boundless  dimensions ;  and  we  have  reason  to  believe 
that  hitherto  we  have  only  trod  its  threshold. 

Nor  do  we  think  that  the  moral  advancement  of 
society  is  greatly  less  than  its  intellectual.  The  insti- 
tutions of  religion,  formerly  obtaining  a  reluctant 
support  by  law  or  the  stern  guardianship  of  authority, 
are  now  better  sustained  by  the  free  will  of  the  com- 
munity. The  general  standard  of  morality  is  higher 
than  in  former  days.  The  discipline  of  the  churches 
is  more  strict,  the  requisitions  of  society  are  more 
exalted.  Conduct  that  was  tolerated  thirty  years  ago, 
B  2* 


IS     LIGHTS    AND    SHADOWS    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

especially  in  public  men,  would  be  fatal  to  their  stand- 
ing now.  The  cause  of  temperance  has  not  only 
wrought  a  great  change  in  the  community  by  partially 
removing  the  chief  source  of  vice  and  crime,  but  it  is 
evident  that  society  itself,  before  it  could  sustain  such 
a  cause,  must  have  been  greatly  purified  and  exalted. 
We  do  not  mean  to  assert  that  vice  and  crime  have 
ceased  to  exist ;  we  do  not  mean  to  say  that  dark  stains 
do  not  continue  to  rest  upon  the  bosom  of  humanity; 
but  we  affirm  that  wickedness  is  becoming  more  and 
more  rare,  and  virtue  more  and  more  common.  Two 
things  are  now  clearly  settled  in  the  community. 
Vice  of  every  kind  is  looked  upon  with  general  repro- 
bation, and  virtue  with  open  approval.  There  is  no 
party,  no  sect,  no  body  of  men,  who  will  dare,  in  the 
light  of  the  present  day,  to  be  the  advocates  of  the 
former,  or  the  enemies  of  the  latter.  The  moral 
vision  of  society  is  distinct  and  clear,  and  distinguishes 
truth  from  error  in  all  important  things,  as  readily  as 
the  eye  distinguishes  between  light  and  darkness. 
If  there  are  still  evils  among  us ;  if  prejudices  are 
indulged,  and  wrongs  perpetrated  by  society,  we  may 
entertain  the  confident  hope  that  they  will  ere  long  be 
obliterated,  or  at  least  softened  by  the  united  force  of 
that  intelligence  and  virtue  which  are  now  diffused 
among  us  and  constitute  the  basis  of  public  opinion. 

In  stating  our  present  condition  and  future  pros- 
pects, we  should  not  neglect  to  notice  the  improved 
state  of  society  in  respect  to  the  comforts,  conve- 
niences and  luxuries  of  life.  Our  country  has  ever 
been  happily  free  from  the  melancholy  spectacles  of 
beggary  and  pauperism,  which  afflict  the  heart  of  the 


INTRODUCTORY    SKETCH.  19 

traveller  in  every  portion  of  the  Old  World.  Here, 
each  person,  with  moderate  industry,  may  enjoy  the 
comforts  of  life.  Nothing  is  more  common  than  to 
see  whole  villages  in  our  country ,  where  almost  every 
individual  is  the  independent  proprietor  of  the  roof 
beneath  which  he  dwells.  Such  scenes  are  not  to  be 
witnessed  in  any  other  part  of  the  globe.  Nor  is  the 
condition  of  society  in  these  respects  stationary ;  year 
by  year,  there  is  improvement — old  evils  are  con- 
stantly being  mitigated  or  removed,  and  new  comforts 
introduced.  The  houses  are  better  than  they  were 
twenty  years  since  ;  the  furniture  more  abundant  and 
tasteful.  With  the  advance  of  knowledge  and  the 
improvement  of  the  arts,  a  higher  estimate  is  put  Upon 
life,  its  comforts,  enjoyments  and  duties  ;  and  this 
results  in  an  onward  march  toward  that  standard  of 
perfection,  which  humanity  may  reasonably  hope  to 
attain. 

If  we  may  be  permitted  to  look  to  the  future,  and 
consider  the  probable  destiny  of  our  country,  in  a 
political  aspect,  we  cannot  fail  to  indulge  in  the 
brightest  anticipations.  Already  are  these  states  the 
asylum  to  which  the  oppressed  of  all  lands  are  flying 
for  deliverance  from  sorrow,  and  for  the  enjoyment  of 
peace  and  prosperity.  The  thousands  that  flock  .0 
our  shores,  are  so  many  living  witnesses  in  behalf  of 
our  country,  and  afford  an  overwhelming  refutation 
of  the  slanders  poured  out  upon  us  by  the  enemies  of 
liberty  and  human  rights.  It  is  vain  to  deny  that  we 
have  attained  a  state  of  general  happiness  realized  by 
no  other  country.  Under  the  genial  influence  of  our 
institutions,  our  population  is  doubled  in  five-and- 


20     LIGHTS   AND    SHADOWS    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

twenty  years.  Many  who  are  now  living  will  doubt- 
less see  it  reach  fifty  millions  ;  the  wave  of  emigration 
has  already  swept  over  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and 
broken  upon  the  shores  of  the  Pacific.  Ere  thirty 
years  are  past,  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  the 
mighty  valley  of  the  Mississippi  will  be  teeming  with 
an  abundant  population  —  that  the  streams  which  cen- 
tre in  the  Columbia  will  turn  the  busy  wheels  of  the 
factory,  and  waft  the  abundant  agricultural  harvest  to 
a  metropolis  yet  to  rise  at  its  moiUh  —  that  a  contin- 
uous line  of  railroad  will  extend  from  the  Atlantic  to 
the  Pacific,  and  that  a  journey  from  one  ocean  to  the 
other  will  be  a  familiar  incident  with  our  citizens. 
The  wires  of  the  magnetic  telegraph  will  speedily  be 
extended  to  the  Mississippi ;  and  before  the  present  gen- 
eration has  passed  away,  by  the  magic  power  of  this 
amazing  invention,  the  inhabitants  of  Astoria  will  read 
at  noon  an  account  of  the  events  which  have  trans- 
pired in  the  morning,  of  the  same  day,  along  the  shores 
of  the  Atlantic.  With  such  anticipations,  is  it  not  a 
privilege  to  be  an  American  ?  — and  who  shall  not  feel 
himself  bound,  by  its  enjoyment,  to  such  a  course  of 
action  as  may  promote  the  glory  and  prosperity  of  his 
country  ? 


GREENLAND. 


REENLAND  is  well  known  as  the  most 
northern  tract  of  land  lying  between 
Europe  and  the  continent  of  America ; 
but  its  nearer  propinquity  to  the  latter 
justifies  us  in  regarding  it  as  a  part  of  the  western 
world.  Considering  its  vast  extent  in  comparison  with 
the  small  portion  yet  known,  it  may  justly  be  enu- 
merated among  the  unexplored  regions  of  the  north. 
It  was  long  supposed  to  be  connected  with  the  Amer- 
ican continent ;  but  the  discoveries  of  Parry,  Ross, 
Back  and  others  have  recently  proved  that  the  waters 
of  Baffin's  Bay  and  the  Arctic  Ocean  to  the  north- 
west are  united  by  a  continuous  channel,  thus  sepa- 
rating Greenland  from  the  continent,  and  forming  it 
into  an  island. 

The  name  of  Greenland,  or  Greenland,  was  be- 


22  GREENLAND. 

stowed  on  the  eastern  coast  of  this  country  by  its  dis- 
coverers, the  Norwegians  and  Icelanders,  from  its 
uncommonly  verdant  appearance.  This  side,  now 
called  Ancient,  or  Lost  Greenland,  is  at  present  almost 
entirely  unknown  to  us,  having  heen  inaccessible,  on 
account  of  the  ice,  for  a  long  period  of  time.  The 
tales  of  Icelandic  writers,  who  describe  in  glowing 
colors  the  fertility  of  ancient  Greenland,  and  the 
beauty  of  its  villages  and  churches,  are  generally 
thought  to  be  mere  fictions,  or  exaggerations.  It  is, 
notwithstanding,  a  fact  that  traces  of  a  superior  state 
of  cultivation  have  been  observed  along  the  western 
coast,  and  the  remains  are  still  to  be  seen  there  of 
dwelling-houses  and  churches,  probably  erected  by  the 
Norwegians  long  since. 

West  Greenland  is  inhabited  by  people  of  Euro- 
pean descent,  between  the  62d  and  the  71st  degrees 
of  north  latitude.  The  shore  is  lofty,  rugged  and 
barren,  rising  close  to  the  water's  edge  into  tremen- 
dous precipices  and  lofty  mountains,  crowned  with  in- 
accessible cliffs,  which  may  be  discerned  from  the  sea 
at  the  distance  of  a  hundred  miles.  All  the  moun- 
tains and  hills,  except  where  the  rocks  are  smooth 
and  perpendicular,  are  covered  with  eternal  ice  and 
snow,  which  accumulate  particularly  on  elevated 
flats,  entirely  filling  many  of  the  valleys,  and  proba- 
bly increasing  from  year  to  year.  Those  rocks  on 
which  the  snow  cannot  lie,  appear  at  a  distance,  of  a 
dusky  gray  color,  and  without  any  sign  of  vegetation  ; 
but  upon  a  nearer  inspection  they  are  found  to  be 
streaked  with  numerous  veins  of  colored  stone,  with 
here  and  there  a  little  earth,  which  affords  a  scanty 


GREENLAND.  23 

nourishment  to  some  hardy  species  of  heath.  The 
valleys  which  contain  small  brooks  and  ponds,  are 
overgrown  with  low  brushwood.  The  whole  coast  is 
indented  with  deep  bays  or  fiords,  which  penetrate  a 
great  distance  into  the  land,  and  are  sprinkled  with 
innumerable  islands  of  the  most  fantastic  shapes.  At 
about  the  63d  degree  of  latitude  is  a  remarkable  place 
called  the  Ice  Blink.  This  is  a  large  and  lofty  sheet 
of  ice,  which  casts  by  its  reflection  a  brightness  over 
the  sky,  similar  to  the  northern  lights,  and  which  may 
be  discerned  at  a  great  distance  from  the  land.  The 
mouth  of  an  adjoining  bay  is  blocked  up  by  ice,  driven 
out  by  the  ebb  tides,  and  so  wonderfully  piled  up  by 
the  waves,  that  the  space  between  the  islands  is  com- 
pletely vaulted  over,  and  the  whole  presents  the 
sublime  spectacle  of  a  stupendous  bridge  of  ice  eigh- 
teen miles  long  and  nearly  five  in  breadth.  Under 
the  arches  of  the  bridge,  which  are  from  twenty  to 
sixty  yards  high,  boats  may  enter  the  bay,  though 
threatened  with  destruction  by  the  masses  impending 
from  above. 

This  coast  is  often  beset  with  icebergs,  or  enor- 
mous islands  of  ice,  which  float  about  in  the  sea,  and 
exhibit  an  endless  variety  of  shapes.  Some  look  like 
churches  or  castles,  adorned  .with  turrets  and  spires, 
others  like  ships  under  full  sail,  and  so  close  is  often 
the  resemblance  that  pilots  have  been  deceived,  and 
have  rowed  off  to  them  in  order  to  guide  the  imagi- 
nary ships  into  port.  They  are  composed  of  extremely 
hard  ice,  perfectly  transparent,  and  generally  of  a  pale 
green  color,  though  some  pieces  are  found  of  a  sky-blue : 
when  melted,  and  frozen  a  second  time,  the  ice  is 


24  GREENLAND. 

white.  Twenty  or  thirty  of  these  icebergs  may  often 
be  seen  after  a  violent  storm,  chasing  each  other  in 
and  out  of  Davis's  Strait.  Some  of  them  frequently 
ground  in  the  shoal  water  near  the  coast,  and  remain 
there  for  years,  till  at  last  they  break  to  pieces,  or  are 
forced  off  by  the  wind  and  currents.  Most  of  them 
are  finally  carried  down  to  the  latitude  of  Newfound- 
land and  Nova  Scotia,  when  they  melt  under  the 
beams  of  the  summer  sun. 

No  trees  grow  in  Greenland,  yet  the  country  is 
plentifully  supplied  with  fuel.  The  streams  of  the 
ocean  bring  with  them  immense  quantities  of  wood, 
and  deposit  it  upon  the  islands  along  the  shore. 
Among  this  drift  timber  are  often  found  great  trees 
torn  up  by  the  roots,  which,  by  driving  and  dashing 
many  years  amidst  the  ice,  have  been  stripped  of  their 
bark  and  branches,  and  eaten  through  by  the  worms. 
These  trees  are  chiefly  pine  and  fir.  The  cold  in 
Greenland  is  so  intense,  that  in  February  and  March 
the  stones  are  split,  and  the  sea  smokes  like  an  oven. 
This  is  called  frost-smoke :  it  raises  blisters  on  the 
skin,  and  congeals  into  minute  particles  of  ice,  which 
are  driven  before  the  wind,  and  cause  so  sharp  a  cold 
that  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  stir  out  of  doors  without 
having  the  face  and  hands  frozen.  •  At  such  times  the 
Greenlanders  are  in  danger  of  starvation.  In  sum- 
mer, the  heat  is  often  so  powerful  as  to  melt  the  pitch 
on  the  decks  of  the  vessels,  but  this  is  never  of  long 
continuance.  Above  the  66th  degree,  the  sun  does 
not  set  for  many  days  before  and  after  midsummer, 
and  in  all  parts  of  the  country  it  is  so  light  during  the 
summer  nights,  that  the  smallest  print  may  be  read, 


GREENLAND.  25 

and  the  mountain-tops  are  continually  gilded  by  the 
sunbeams.  During  the  period  in  which  the  sun  never 
sets,  he  ceases  to  dazzle  a  few  hours  after  noon,  and 
is  entirely  shorn  of  his  powerful  beams,  appearing 
only  like  a  full  moon,  which  the  eye  may  dwell  upon 
with  impunity.  The  winter  nights,  on  the  contrary, 
are  proportionally  long,  and  at  Disko  Bay  the  sun 
never  rises  from  the  30th  of  November  to  the  12th  of 
January.  The  inhabitants  enjoy  then  only  a  clear 
twilight,  caused  by  the  reflection  of  the  sun's  rays 
from  the  cold,  dense  atmosphere  and  the  icy  summits 
of  the  mountains.  In  Greenland,  it  is  never  so  dark 
at  any  season  as  in  more  southern  regions.  The 
light  of  the  moon  and  stars,  shining  through  the  clear 
cold  air,  is  so  brightly  reflected  by  the  snow  and  ice, 
that  common  sized  print  may  be  read  at  all  times  of 
the  night :  and  when  there  is  no  moon,  her  loss  is 
more  than  repaired  by  the  Aurora  Borealis,  which 
illuminates  the  heavens  in  a  most  beautiful  manner. 
Sometimes  nearly  the  whole  sky  appears  like  one  vast 
dome  of  burnished  gold,  which  is  presently  trans- 
formed, with  the  rapidity  of  lightning,  into  all  sorts  of 
fantastic  shapes,  often  presenting  the  appearance  of  a 
glorious  amphitheatre  splendidly  fitted  out  with  daz- 
zling furniture,  and  decked  in  all  the  colors  of  the 
rainbow.  This  fire-built  structure  does  not  last  many 
minutes.  All  its  parts  soon  acquire  a  tremulous  mo- 
tion, and  the  rays  cross  and  intermix  with  inconceiv- 
able velocity,  dancing  sportively  through  the  heavens 
with  a  constant  interchange  of  coloring,  and  in  the 
most  wonderful  variety  of  forms,  till  the  approach  of 
the  sun  closes  the  magical  exhibition.  The  sudden- 
vii.— 3 


26  GREENLAND. 

ness  with  which  the  scenes  shift  resembles  the  rapid 
succession  of  different  forms  produced  by  shaking  a 
kaleidoscope. 

The  aboriginal  Greenlanders  vaguely  term  them- 
selves Innuit,  that  is,  men  or  natives.  The  Iceland- 
ers, who  first  discovered  and  colonized  the  country, 
bestowed  upon  them  the  contemptuous  appellation  of 
Skrcsllings,  expressive  of  their  dwarfish  and  imbecile 
appearance.  Their  stature  rarely  exceeds  five  feet, 
and  their  appearance  promises  little  bodily  vigor. 
They  have  a  dark  skin,  but  this  is  probably  not  natural 
to  them,  as  their  children  are  born  white.  Their  un- 
cleanly habits,  their  continual  use  of  blubber,  their 
smoky  houses,  and  their  total  neglect  of  washing,  soon 
change  their  complexion.  They  have  universally 
long,  coarse,  and  coal-black  hair,  and  are  so  fat 
that  they  can  bear  an  extreme  degree  of  cold  with 
slight  clothing.  They  are  very  nimble-footed  and 
strong.  A  man  who  has  eaten  nothing  but  seaweed 
for  three  days,  will  manage  his  kajatc  or  skiff  in  the 
heaviest  sea  ;  and  a  woman  will  carry  a  whole  rein- 
deer eight  or  ten  miles.  They  consider  themselves 
the  only  civilized  people  in  the  world,  and  the  highest 
praise  they  bestow  upon  a  European  is  to  say,  "  He 
is  almost  as  well  bred  as  we." 

A  Greenlander  in  his  kajak  is  an  object  of  wonder. 
His  sable  sea-dress,  shining  with  rows  of  white  bone 
buttons,  gives  him  a  striking  appearance.  He  rows 
with  a  celerity  almost  incredible,  and  when  charged 
with  letters  from  one  settlement  to  another,  will  go 
fifty  miles  in  a  day.  He  dreads  no  storm ;  and  as 
long  as  a  ship  can  carry  her  topsail,  he  braves  the 


GEEENLAND.  27 

mountain  billows,  darting  over  them  like  a  bird,  and 
even  when  completely  buried  in  the  waves,  he  soon 
re-appears,  skimming  along  the  surface.  If  a  breaker 
threatens  to  overset  him,  he  supports  himself  in  an 
erect  position  by  his  oar,  or  if  he  is  actually  upset,  he 
restores  himself  to  his  balance  by  one  swing  of  that 
instrument.  But  if  he  loses  the  oar,  it  is  certain 
death. 

If  we  use  the  name  of  savage  to  imply  a  brutal,  un- 
social and  cruel  disposition,  the  Greenlanders  are  not 
savages.  They  are  not  intractable,  wild  or  barbarous, 
but  mild,  quiet,  and  good-natured.  They  live  in  a  state 
of  natural  liberty  without  formal  government,  but  in 
social  communities  of  a  republican  character.  These 
societies,  which  consist  of  several  families  in  one 
house,  or  of  several  houses  on  an  island,  are  not  kept 
together  by  fixed  laws  and  an  organized  power  to 
enforce  them,  but  by  a  certain  order  mutually  under- 
stood and  spontaneously  agreed  to.  They  have  in 
this  way  subsisted  for  several  centuries,  with  more 
quietness  than  any  community  in  Europe.  Few 
materials  can  be  collected  for  the  history  of  this  peo- 
ple, as  they  have  no  oral  traditions  of  any  importance, 
nor  are  there  any  records  or  monuments  of  antiquity 
among  them.  All  they  know  of  their  ancestors  is 
this,  that  they  expelled  the  Kablunat,  or  former  colo- 
nists of  the  country. 

According  to  the  Icelandic  chronicles,  Greenland 
.vas  first  visited  by  Europeans  in  the  ninth  century, 
iiric,  the  son  of  Thorwald,  was  obliged  to  flee  from 
Iceland  to  avoid  the  consequences  of  a  murder.  He 
had  been  informed  that  a  certain  Gunbicern  had  dis- 


28  GREENLAND. 

covered  a  new  country  in  the  west,  and  he  steered  in 
that  direction.  He  first  came  in  sight  of  the  land  at 
Herjolf 's  Ness ;  then  coasting  along  to  the  southwest, 
he  wintered  in  a  pleasant  island,  and  named  the  strait 
adjacent,  Eric's  Sound.  The  following  summer  he 
spent  in  examining  the  mainland,  and  returned  in  the 
third  year  to  Iceland.  The  glowing  description  which 
he  gave  of  the  verdant  meadows,  the  woods  and  the 
fisheries  of  this  newly  discovered  territory,  which  he 
called  Greenland,  allured  such  multitudes,  that  twenty- 
five  ships  full  of  colonists  followed  him  thither  in  the 
ensuing  spring,  with  a  large  stock  of  household  goods, 
and  all  sorts  of  cattle.  New  swarms  of  settlers  fol- 
lowed in  subsequent  years  from  Iceland  and  Norway, 
and  planted  their  colonies  thickly  along  the  eastern 
and  western  coasts.  One  hundred  and  ninety  villages 
on  the  eastern,  and  a  hundred  and  ten  on  the  western 
shores  of  Greenland,  are  enumerated  by  contemporary 
writers. 

A  short  time  after  these  events,  the  Icelanders 
renounced  their  Scandinavian  creed  and  embraced 
Christianity.  Greenland  was  continually  receiving 
new  colonists,  and  ere  long,  the  Christian  population 
became  numerous.  A  bishop  was  sent  thither  from 
Denmark  in  1122,  and  fixed  his  residence  at  Gardar. 
The  commerce  of  the  country  was  now  considerable. 
Cattle,  peltry,  fish,  butter  and  cheese  were  exported 
in  large  quantities. 

There  appears  to  be  no  evidence  that  Greenland 
was  inhabited  when  first  discovered  by  the  Icelanders. 
In  the  fourteenth  century,  the  Skrcellings  suddenly 
made  their  appearance  in  West  Greenland,  where 


GREENLAND.  29 

they  killed  several  of  the  people  and  captured  others. 
Ivar  Beer,  the  Greenland  justiciary,  was  sent  by  the 
bishop  with  some  ships  to  expel  them  from  the  coast, 
but  on  landing,  he  found  all  the  invaders  had  fled,  and 
left  behind  them  a  large  drove  of  sheep  and  oxen. 
Nothing  more  was  heard  of  this  body  of  Skroellings. 

All  accounts  of  the  state  of  Greenland  draw  to  a 
close  soon  after  this  date.  The  eastern  coast  was 
shut  in  by  immense  masses  of  ice,  which  have  never 
since  dispersed,  and  this  territory  bears  the  name  of 
."  Lost  Greenland."  In  the  west,  the  Skroellings  again 
appeared,  and  the  settlers  fled  before  their  encroach- 
ments. Presently  we  lose  all  sight  of  the  country. 
Some  traces  of  the  colonists  were  however  discovered 
long  afterward.  About  the  year  1530,  Bishop  Amund, 
of  Skalholt,  in  Iceland,  on  his  return  from  Norway  to 
that  island,  was  driven  by  a  storm  so  near  to  the  coast 
of  Greenland,  at  Herjolf 's  Ness,  that  he  could  see  the 
inhabitants  driving  home  their  cattle.  He  did  not 
land,  but  bore  away  before  a  favorable  gale  which 
immediately  sprung  up  and  carried  him  on  his  voyage. 
A  Hamburg  seaman  was  thrice  driven  among  the 
islands  on  this  coast,  where  he  saw  huts  like  those  of 
Iceland,  but  could  discover  no  people.  Fragments 
of  shattered  boats  have  been  frequently  stranded  on 
the  coast  of  Iceland,  and  in  1625,  an  entire  canoe  was 
driven  ashore,  compacted  with  sinews  and  wooden 
pegs,  and  smeared  over  with  blubber.  An  oar  was 
also  found,  inscribed  in  Runic  characters  with  the 
words,  "  Oft  was  I  tired  while  I  drew  thee." 

The  name  of  Greenland  was  almost  forgotten,  when 
the  discovery  of  America  by  Columbus  and  his  suc- 
3* 


30 


GREENLAND. 


cessors  revived  among  the  Danes  a  recollection  of  this 
lost  colony.  Frederic  II.,  in  1578,  sent  the  famous 
navigator,  Magnus  Hennington,  in  search  of  it.  After 
many  perils  from  storms  and  ice,  he  succeeded  in 
gaining  sight  of  the  land,  but  returned  home  with  the 
marvellous  report,  that  the  ship  all  at  once  stood  still 
and  could  not  by  any  means  be  forced  onwards, 
although  it  blew  a  fair  and  strong  breeze,  and  there 
was  an  unfathomable  depth  of  water.  He  ascribed 
this  mysterious  obstruction  to  a  submarine  rock  of 
loadstone.  Others  affirmed  that  a  remora,  or  sucking- 
fish,  had  seized  the  ship  with  its  teeth.  Fear  of  the 
ice  on  the  part  of  the  navigator,  is  a  much  more  proba- 
ble explanation  of  the  matter. 

Martin  Frobisher,  who  was  sent  by  Queen  Eliza- 
beth, two  years  before,  to  make  discoveries  in  the 
northern  seas,  is  supposed  to  have  seen  Greenland. 
His  description  of  lands  that  he  discovered,  agrees  very 
well  with  that  country.  But  he  also  informs  us  that 
the  natives  were  a  very  civilized  race,  and  their  king, 
Cakiunge,  was  covered  with  gold  and  jewels.  Such  a 
fiction  impairs  our  belief  in  his  narrative.  John  Da- 
vis, in  1585,  and  the  two  following  years,  explored  a 
considerable  part  of  the  western  coast,  and  traded 
with  the  natives.  The  Danes  were  roused  to  new 
exertions  by  these  discoveries,  and  sent  three  ships  to 
Greenland  in  1605,  under  John  Knight,  an  English 
seaman  of  long  experience  in  the  Greenland  seas,  and 
the  Danish  Admiral  Lindenow.  The  admiral  an- 
chored on  the  eastern  coast,  but  distrusting  the  sav- 
ages, he  remained  there  only  three  days,  bartering 
for  skins.  Seizing  two  of  the  natives,  he  returned  to 


GREENLAND.  31 

Denmark.  Knight  sailed  with  two  other  ships  to  the 
western  coast,  where  he  found  inhabitants  much  more 
barbarous  than  those  at  the  east.  He  also  met  with 
rich  silver  ore.  He  took  five  of  the  Greenlanders 
prisoners,  one  of  whom  he  killed  in  order  to  terrify 
the  rest  into  submission. 

The  king  of  Denmark  was  so  much  encouraged  by 
the  success  of  this  expedition,  that  he  sent  out  the 
admiral  in  the  following  year,  with  three  of  the 
Greenlanders  as  interpreters.  They  arrived  in  Davis' 
Strait  in  May,  1606.  At  their  first  attempt  to  hold 
intercourse  with  the  natives,  the  latter  kept  aloof.  At 
the  second  place  where  they  landed,  they  were 
received  with  a  show  of  hostility.  At  a  third  place, 
where  the  natives  absolutely  rejected  all  intercourse, 
one  of  the  admiral's  men  ventured  on  shore  in  hopes 
of  conciliating  them  by  presents.  But  no  sooner  had 
he  set  foot  on  land,  than  they  fell  upon  him  with  their 
wooden  knives,  and,  before  he  could  receive  any  assist- 
ance, hewed  him  in  pieces,  in  revenge  of  the  violence 
committed  by  the  Danes  the  preceding  year.  The 
commander,  losing  all  hope  of  opening  a  communica- 
tion with  the  natives,  returned  home. 

The  fate  of  the  Greenlanders  who  were  carried  to 
Denmark,  was  most  melancholy.  Though  they 
received  the  kindest  treatment  and  were  well  sup- 
plied with  the  dainties  of  their  own  country,  fish  and 
train  oil,  they  frequently  looked  with  longing  eyes 
and  heart-breaking  sobs  toward  the  north.  At  length 
they  escaped  to  sea  in  their  boats,  intending  to  find 
their  way  home  across  the  ocean ;  but  being  driven 
back  by  a  violent  wind  ';o  the  coast  of  Schonen,  two 


32  GREENLAND. 

of  them  died  of  grief.  Two  of  the  survivors  again 
attempted  to  escape,  and  only  one  of  them  was  re- 
covered. This  forlorn  being  was  observed  to  weep 
most  bitterly  whenever  he  saw  a  child  hanging  on  its 
mother's  neck,  whence  it  was  supposed,  for  no  one 
understood  his  language,  that  he  had  a  wife  and 
children  in  his  native  country.  The  remaining  two 
lived  ten  or  eleven  years  in  Denmark,  and  were  em- 
ployed in  the  pearl  fishery ;  but  were  so  rigorously 
tasked,  even  in  winter,  that  the  one  died,  and  the  other 
fled  to  the  sea  in  his  boat ;  but,  being  recaptured  above 
a  hundred  miles  from  land,  he  likewise  pined  away 
and  died  of  home-sickness. 

The  Danes  continued  their  attempts  to  explore 
Greenland.  Some  of  their  ships  could  not  approach 
the  land  on  account  of  the  ice,  and  others  failed  in  the 
enterprise  from  various  causes.  In  1636,  a  company 
of  Copenhagen  merchants  fitted  out  two  vessels, 
which  reached  Davis'  Strait,  and  traded  With  the 
natives.  One  of  the  sailors  discovered  on  the  beach 
a  glittering  kind  of  sand,  which  was  of  a  golden  color 
and  extremely  heavy.  The  crew  believed  they  had 
discovered  another  Ophir  or  Peru,  and  loaded  both 
ships  with  it.  On  their  return  to  Copenhagen,  it  was 
examined,  and  pronounced  to  be  of  no  value.  The 
whole  was  therefore  thrown  into  the  sea;  but  not 
long  afterward,  a  foreign  artist  succeeded  in  extract- 
ing grains  of  gold  from  a  sand  found  in  Norway, 
precisely  similar.  The  captain  of  the  Greenland 
expedition  now  died  of  vexation,  and  no  other  person 
was  able  to  find  the  place  where  the  glittering  sand 
had  been  obtained. 


GREENLAND.  33 

The  Danes  seem  to  have  given  up  Greenland  in 
despair,  when,  about  the  year  1715,  Hans  Egede,  a 
clergyman  of  Vogen,  in  the  •  north  part  of  Norway, 
had  his  sympathies  strongly  excited  on  reading  in  the 
Danish  histories  that  Christian  inhabitants  formerly 
lived  in  Greenland,  all  knowledge  of  whom  was  lost, 
and  who  had  probably  sunk  into  paganism.  It  ap- 
peared to  him  to  be  the  duty  of  every  philanthropic 
Norwegian  to  search  out  his  lost  countrymen,  and 
reclaim  them  to  Christianity  and  civilization.  Being 
of  an  enthusiastic  and  persevering  temper,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  engaging  several  other  persons  in  the  enter- 
prise, which  at  length  received  the  sanction  of  the 
king;  and  in  May,  1721,  he  sailed  from  Copenhagen, 
with  a  company  of  forty  settlers,  for  Greenland.  They 
encountered  great  perils  from  the  ice  on  the  western 
coast ;  but  at  length,  on  the  3d  day  of  July,  they 
landed  at  Baal's  river,  in  the  sixty-fourth  degree  of 
latitude,  and  immediately  began  to  build  houses. 
This  was  the  first  settlement  in  Greenland,  which  has 
continued  to  the  present  day.  By  judicious  exertions 
in  conciliating  the  natives,  they  were  brought  into 
friendly  relations  with  the  settlers,  and  new  establish- 
ments were  formed  along  the  western  coast,  which  are 
still  in  a  flourishing  condition.  More  than  a  thou- 
sand of  the  Greenlanders  are  now,  nominally  at  least, 
of  the  Christian  religion. 


THE  NORTHMEN  IN  AMERICA, 


Dighton  Sock. 

THE  remarkable  fact  that  in  the  tenth  century,  the 
continent  of  America  was  visited  by  Europeans,  who 
founded  settlements  on  the  shores  of  New  England, 
seems  to  be  fully  substantiated  by  the  Icelandic  his- 
tories which  have  been  brought  to  light  within  a  few 
years.  According  to  these  documents,  the  authenticity 
of  which  seems  indisputable,  the  Northmen,  who  settled 
Iceland  and  Greenland,  pushed  their  discoveries  south 
as  far  as  the  coast  of  Massachusetts  and  Rhode 
Island;  to  which  countries  they  gave  the  name  of 
Vinland,  from  the  wild  grapes  which  they  found 
growing  there. 

The  first  discoverer  was  Biarne,  a  young  Icelander, 
who,  on  returning  home  from  a  voyage  at  the  end  of 


THE    NORTHMEN    IN   AMERICA.  35 

the  summer  of  986,  found  that  his  father  had  gone  to 
Greenland.  He  sailed  in  pursuit  of  him,  although  he 
had  never  voyaged  in  that  quarter,  and  was  unac- 
quainted with  the  route.  For  three  days  his  voyage 
was  prosperous ;  but  then  the  sky  became  overcast,  a 
strong  wind  blew  from  the  north,  and  he  was  tossed 
about  for  several  days,  driving  he  knew  not  whither. 
At  length,  the  sky  grew  clear,  and  after  a  day's  sail, 
they  descried  an  unknown  land  covered  with  woods 
and  hills.  Biarne  sailed  for  several  days  along  the 
coast,  after  which  the  wind  shifted  to  the  south,  and 
he  made  his  way  north  to  Greenland. 

This  adventure  was  no  sooner  reported  to  Leif,  the 
son  of  Eric  the  Red,  a  bold  and  enterprising  young 
chief,  than  he  determined  upon  an  expedition  to  this 
newly-discovered  region.  He  set  sail,  with  thirty- 
five  men,  and,  following  the  direction  pointed  out  by 
Biarne,  arrived  in  view  of  the  unknown  land.  It  was 
rude  and  rocky,  with  mountains  covered  with  snow 
and  ice.  He  named  it  Helhdand,  or  the  land  of 
rocks.  He  next  came  to  a  flat  region  covered  with 
forests,  which  he  called  MarJdand,  or  the  woody 
land.  Sailing  still  farther  onward,  and  favored  by  a 
north  wind,  he  reached  a  delightful  island  near  the 
continent.  The  soil  was  fertile,  the  ground  was  cov- 
ered with  bushes  which  bore  sweet  berries,  and  there 
were  a  river  and  lake,  amply  stored  with  salmon  and 
other  fish.  The  grass  was  covered  with  dew,  sweet 
as  honey.  A  German,  named  Tyrker,  penetrated 
into  the  country,  and  came  back  in  great  exulta- 
tion, announcing  that  he  had  discovered  grapes.  He 
showed  them  the  fruit  and  they  gathered  large  quan- 


36  THE    NORTHMEN    IN   AMERICA. 

titles ;  with  which,  and  the  timber  they  felled,  they 
loaded  their  vessel,  and  returned  home,  naming  the 
country  Vinland. 

The  next  adventurer  was  Thorwald  Ericson,  who 
sailed  for  Vinland  in  1002.  He  arrived  at  a  spot 
where  Leif  had  built  some  huts,  and  to  which  he 
had  given  the  name  of  Leifsbooths,  spent  the  winter 
there,  and  caught  fish.  The  next  spring,  he  sent  a 
party  in  his  longboat  to  make  discoveries  to  the  south- 
ward. They  found  the  country  beautiful  and  well- 
wooded,  the  trees  growing  nearly  down  to  the  water's 
edge.  There  were  also  extensive  ranges  of  white 
sand.  In  1004,  Thorwald  sailed  eastward  and  then 
northward,  passing  a  remarkable  headland  enclosing 
a  bay ;  opposite  to  which  was  another  headland.  He 
called  it  Kialarnes,  or  Keel  Cape.  He  then  proceeded 
along  the  eastern  coast  to  a  promontory  overgrown 
with  trees,  where  he  landed  with  all  his  crew.  He 
was  so  well  pleased  with  this  place  that  he  exclaimed, 
"  This  is  beautiful ;  here  I  should  like  well  to  fix  my 
dwelling."  On  the  beach  they  found  three  canoes, 
and  a  number  of  Indians,  whom  the  Northmen  call 
Skrcdlings.  They  came  to  blows  with  them,  and 
killed  all  but  one,  who  escaped  in  his  canoe.  After- 
wards a  countless  multitude  came  out  of  the  interior  ,  ! 
of  the  bay  against  them.  They  endeavored  to  pro- 
tect themselves  by  raising  battle-screens  on  the  ship's 
side.  The  Skroellings  continued  shooting  arrows  at 
them  for  a  while,  and  then  retreated.  Thorwald  was 
mortally  wounded,  and  gave  orders  that  they  should 
bury  him  on  the  promontory,  and  plant  crosses  at  his 
head  and  feet.  From  this  circumstance  the  place  was 


THE    NORTHMEN    IN    AMERICA.  37 

jylmed  Krossanes,  or  Cross  Cape.  The  following  yeai 
ms  men  returned  to  Greenland. 

Thorfinn,  the  brother  of  Leif  and  Thorwald,  not 
discouraged  by  the  fate  of  his  kinsmen,  fitted  out 
another  expedition  in  1007.  It  consisted  of  three  ves- 
sels, and  one  hundred  and  sixty  men.  They  took  with 
them  various  kinds  of  live  stock,  being  determined  to 
form  a  settlement  if  possible.  In  Helluland  and 
Markland,  they  found  much  wild  game.  Sailing  a 
great  distance  southwesterly,  they  arrived  at  Kia- 
larnes,  where  they  found  long  beaches  and  hills  of 
sand,  called  by  them  Furthurslrandir.  The  land  now 
began  to  be  indented  by  inlets,  and  they  found  grapes 
and  wild  grain.  They  continued  their  course  till 
they  came  to  .a  bay  penetrating  far  up  into  the  coun- 
try. At  the  mouth  of  it  was  an  island,  where  the 
current  ran  very  swiftly.  Here  the  eider-ducks  were 
so  numerous,  that  it  was  scarcely  possible  to  walk 
without  treading  on  their  eggs.  They  called  the  island 
Straumey,  or  Stream  Island,  and  the  bay  Straum- 
Jiord,  or  Stream  Firth.  They  landed  on  the  shore 
of  this  bay,  and  made  preparations  for  their  winter 
residence.  The  company  afterwards  separated,  and 
one  party  sailed  further  south  to  a  place  where  a  river 
falls  into  the  sea  from  a  lake.  Opposite  the  mouth  of 
the  river,  were  large  islands.  They  steered  into  the 
lake,  and  called  the  place  Hop,  (Hope.)  Grapes  and 
wild  grain  were  growing  on  the  low  grounds.  Here 
they  erected  houses  and  spent  the  winter.  No  snow 
fell,  and  the  cattle  pastured  in  the  open  fields. 

One  morning  in  the  beginning  of  1008,  a  number 
of  canoes  were  seen  approaching.  One  of  the  North- 
vii.— 4 


38  THE    NORTHMEN    IN    AMERICA. 

men  held  up  a  white  shield  as  a  token  of  peace,  and 
the  savages  joined  them  and  commenced  trading. 
They  were  very  fond  of  red  cloth,  and  gave  furs 
in  exchange.  They  would  have  bought  swords  and 
spears,  but  these  the  Northmen  would  not  sell.  While 
the  traffic  was  going  on,  a  bull,  which  had  been  brought 
from  Iceland,  came  out  of  the  wood  and  bellowed 
loudly;  which  so  frightened  the  savages,  that  they 
all  ran  to  their  canoes  and  paddled  off.  Towards 
winter,  they  came  again  in  great  numbers  :  the  North- 
men caused  the  red  shield  to  be  borne  against  them, 
and  they  joined  battle.  The  savages  had  a  sort  of 
war  slings,  and  there  was  a  furious  discharge  of  mis- 
siles on  both  sides.  The  Indians  then  hoisted  a  huge 
ball  upon  a  pole,  and  swung  it  from  their  canoes  over 
the  heads  of  the  Northmen,  upon  whom  it  fell  with  a 
terrible  crash.  This  struck  them  with  a  panic,  and 
'hey  fled,  till  they  were  rallied  by  a  female  named 
Freydisa,  who  displayed  the  most  intrepid  courage, 
and  caused  the  savages  to  fly  in  their  turn.  The 
hostilities  of  the  natives  caused  them  to  abandon  this 
place,  and  they  sailed  for  Kialarnes,  from  whence 
they  steered  northwesterly.  The  land  was  covered 
with  thick  forests  as  far  as  they  could  see,  and  some 
high  hills  were  discerned  in  the  interior,  which  they 
considered  to  be  part  of  a  range  connected  with  the 
heights  of  Hop.  They  spent  the  next  winter  at 
Straumfiord,  and  afterwards  returned  to  Iceland. 

These  voyages,  and  many  others  which  the  North- 
men made  to  Vinland,  and  of  which  the  narratives 
are  so  minute  and  authentic  as  to  place  their  truth 
beyond  a  doubt,  render  it  an  indisputable  fact,  that  a 


THE    NORTHMEN    IN    AMERICA.  39 

considerable  part  of  the  coast  of  America  was  known 
to  these  navigators.  By  a  diligent  examination  of 
the  routes  pursued  by  them,  and  a  comparison  of  the 
same  with  the  coasts  of  Nova  Scotia  and  New  Eng- 
land, it  appears  that  their  excursions  extended  as  far 
as  Rhode  Island.  The  bearings,  distances  and  gen- 
eral description  of  the  territories  seen  by  the  North- 
men, correspond  remarkably  with  the  actual  situation 
of  the  country.  Hellerland  is  Newfoundland ;  Mark- 
land  is  Nova  Scotia ;  Kialarnes  is  Cape  Cod,  and 
Furtkurstrandir  is  the  long  sandy  beach  of  that  penin- 
sula ;  Straumfiord  is  Buzzard's  Bay ;  Straumey  is 
Martha's  Vineyard,  and  Hop  is  Mount  Hope  Bay,  in 
Rhode  Island ;  Krossanes  is  either  Point  Alderton  at 
the  entrance  of  Boston  harbor,  or  the  Gurnet  at  Ply- 
mouth. The  heights  seen  in  the  interior  are  Milton 
Hills. 

In  Rhode  Island  and  the  neighborhood,  there  are 
still  extant  some  remarkable  relics  of  antiquity, 
which  many  persons  regard  as  belonging  to  the  age 
of  the  Northmen.*  At  Dighton,  on  Taunton  river, 

*  The  Royal  Society  of  Northern  Antiquities,  at  Copenha- 
gen, have  bestowed  great  care  in  the  investigation  of  the  Rhode 
Island  antiquities,  the  result  of  which  may  be  seen  in  their 
great  work  entitled  Antiquitates  Americana.  The  Newport 
Tower  is  supposed  to  have  been  an  ancient  baptistry ;  the 
figures  on  the  Dighton  Rock,  which  correspond  in  form  to  those 
used  by  the  Northmen  during  the  middle  age's,  they  conceive 
to  mean  in  substance  as  follows  : 

Thorfain,  with  a  hundred  and  thirty  men,  took  possession  of  this 
spot.  „ 

This  seems  to  coincide  with  the  account  found  in  the  Ice- 
landic Skin  Books,  which  states  that  in  A.  D.  1007,  Thorfinn, 


40 


THE    NORTHMEN    IN    AMERICA. 


which   falls  into  Mount  Hope    Bay,  is  the   famous 

"  writing  rock,"  covered  with  sculptured  characters, 

which  have  afforded  much  scope  for  the  ingenuity  of 


antiquarians.  At  Newport  there  is  yet  to  be  seen 
the  most  remarkable  architectural  ruin  in  the  United 

with  several  ships  and  a  hundred  and  sixty  men,  sailed  for  Vin- 
land,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  colony  there.  He  also 
took  with  him  cattle,  and  all  such  articles  as  would  be  needed 
in  an  infant  settlement.  They  reached  their  place  of  destina- 
tion, and  made  a  settlement  at  Hop,  supposed  to  be  Mount 
Hope ;  but  in  consequence  of  frequent  annoyances  from  the 
Indians,  they  returned  to  their  native  country,  A.  D.  1009. 
Beside  the  inscriptions  upon  the  Dighton  Rock  above  trans- 
lated, there  are  other  sculptures,  among  which  are  two  human 
figures,  representing,  as  some  conjecture,  Gudrida,  the  wife  of 
Thorfinn,  in  a  sitting  posture,  and  Snorre,  their  son — the  first 
person  of  European  parentage  born  in  this  country,  to  whom 
the  genealogy  of  the  great  sculptor,  Thorwaldsen,  is  traced 


THE    NORTHMEN   IN   AMERICA.  41 

States.  It  consists  of  the  lower  portion  of  a  circular 
tower,  built  of  rubble  stone,  and  resting  on  arches 
and  pillars.  No  structure  of  the  kind  has  ever  been 
known  in  any  other  part  of  the  country,  nor  is  there 
any  account,  either  in  writing  or  tradition,  of  the  date 
3f  its  erection.  It  is  evidently,  of  high  antiquity  and 
<s  supposed  to  be  of  Scandinavian  origin.  At  Fall 
River,  on  Mount  Hope  Bay,  there  was  discovered,  in 
1834,  the  skeleton  of  a  man,  who  is  supposed  to  have 
been  one  of  the  settlers  of  Vinland.  The  body  was 
brought  to  light  by  digging  down  a  hill.  On  the  breast 
was  a  plate  of  brass  much  corroded,  but  which  was  evi- 
dently a  shield  or  breastplate  ;  and  below  this,  was  a 
curious  belt  of  brass  tubes.  In  the  grave  were  found 
many  arrow-heads  of  brass,  of  a  fashion  entirely 
unknown  among  the  Indians.  There  were  also  ap- 
pearances of  embalmment  about  the  body.  In  our 
account  of  the  Pilgrims,  we  shall  have  occasion  to 
mention  a  similar  discovery  at  Cape  Cod.  These 
ind  other  relics  scattered  along  the  coast  are  generally 
/egarded  as  vestiges  of  the  Scandinavian  adventurers. 
The  more  recent  settlers  in  Vinland  became  in- 
rolved  in  bloody  civil  contentions,  which  had  a  most 
iisastrous  effect  upon  the  colony.  In  1121,  Bishop 
iric,  of  Greenland,  embarked  on  a  missionary  voyage 
.o  Vinland,  the  result  of  which  is  not  known.  Men- 

.ack.  There  is  also  a  shield  of  the  form  peculiar  to  the  ancient 
Scandinavians,  and  similar  to  some  used  at  the  present  day  by 

he  inhabitants  of  Iceland,  the  lower  portion  being  fashioned 
iike  the  tail  of  a  fish ;  likewise  a  helmet  inverted,  typical  of 
the  peaceful  state  of  the  colony ;  a  quadruped  is  also  seen,  which 
is  an  emblem  not  unusual  in  ancient  Icelandic  inscriptions, 

indicative  of  domestic  life. 

4* 


42  THE    NORTHMEN    IN    AMERICA. 

lion  is  made  of  a  voyage  to  Markland  as  late  as  1347, 
exactly  a  century  before  the  birth  of  Columbus.  After 
this,  the  country  appears,  for  some  unknown  reason, 
to  have  been'  abandoned  by  the  Northmen,  and  Vin- 
land  gradually  became  forgotten. 

The  ancient  accounts  of  these  voyages,  to  borrow  the 
language  of  an  able  writer,*1  "  contain  nothing  which, 
when  rightly  considered,  ought  to  impair  their  sub- 
stantial credibility,  on  the  score  of  extravagance. 
They  present  many  of  the  characteristics  of  the  legen- 
dary tales  of  rude  ages,  of  the  narratives  of  credulous 
mariners,  relating  their  exploits  in  distant  and  newly 
discovered  countries.  The  German  Tyrker,  whose 
discovery  of  the  grape  gave  the  name  of  Vinland  to 
the  region,  is  represented  as  having  lost  his  way  from 
the  exhilarating  effect  of  the  fruit  which  he  had  eaten. 
In  the  image  of  a  German  sea-rover  intoxicated  with 
eating  fox-grapes,  there  is  indeed  a  ludicrous  extrava- 
gance. So,  too,  the  savage  who  shot  Thorwald  is 
described  as  a  one-legged  animal,  a  phenomenon 
which  awakens  a  burst  of  poetic  admiration  on  the 
part  of  one  of  the  company.  On  the  death  of  Thor- 
stein,  in  Greenland,  while  his  wife,  Gudrida,  is  holding 
the  lyke-wake,  the  dead  body  enters  into  conversation 
with  her,  and  relates  her  future  fortunes  in  the  style 
of  the  epic  visions  of  Greece  and  Rome.  These  are 
the  ornaments  with  which  a  traditionary  tale  is  clothed 
by  minstrels  and  rhapsodists;  they  are  the  supersti- 
tions of  a  credulous  age ;  they  are  the  romantic  crea- 
tions of  weather-beaten  mariners,  sitting  with  their 
skinny-handed  crones  around  a  driftwood  fire,  during 

*N.  A.  Review,  No.  98. 


THE    NORTHMEN    IN    AMERICA.  43 

the  long  Arctic  night,  and  rehearsing  the  wonders  of 
the  sea.  Rude  but  vigorous  fancy  redeems  the  frozen 
and  homely  poverty  of  real  life.  The  poor  seaman's 
cabin,  excavated  under  the  comfortable  lee  of  a  glacier, 
one  half  sunk  into  a  frozen  soil,  the  other  covered 
with  eternal  snow,  warms  and  flashes  up  with  strange 
pageantry.  Its  inmates  have  seen  spirits  dancing  on 
the  northern  lights  ;  they  have  beheld  wild  eyes  glar- 
ing out  of  the  ice-blink,  have  looked  with  amazement 
at  the  sea-serpent  as  he  curled  up  and  overtopped  the 
mainmast,  and  have  cast  their  anchor  into  the  small 
ribs  of  the  kraken.  Regarding  the  age  and  the 
region  in  which  these  Icelandic  traditions  must  have 
circulated  for  two  or  three  generations,  we  think  they 
have  suffered  less  than  might  have  been  expected 
from  the  credulity  and  extravagance,  the  superstition 
and  the  ignorance  of  their  narrators." 


COLUMBUS. 


FEW  things  show  more  strongly  the  contrast  be- 
tween ancient  and  modern  times,  than  the  science  of 
navigation.  The  boldest  and  most  skilful  of  the  an- 
cient seamen  confined  his  enterprise  almost  entirely 
to  the  practice  of  timidly  creeping  along  the  shore, 
while  the  most  ordinary  navigator  of  modern  times 
boldly  adventures  across  the  wide  ocean.  There  is 
but  a  single  instance  of  this  in  ancient  times.  The 
Alexandrians,  in  the  most  advanced  state  of  their  skill 
and  enterprise  under  the  Roman  empire,  made  voy- 
ages across  the  Indian  Ocean,  from  the  mouth  of  the 


COLUMBUS.  45 

Red  Sea  to  the  coast  of  Malabar.  The  voyage  was 
always  performed  under  the  influence  of  a  favorable 
monsoon,  which  rendered  it  safe  and  certain ;  and  a 
circuitous  route  along  the  coasts  of  Arabia  and  Persia 
had  been  followed  for  ages,  ere  some  daring  sailor  ven- 
tured to  strike  across  the  ocean  to  a  coast,  the  situa- 
tion of  which  was  already  known. 

The  most  skilful  and  adventurous  sailors  during 
the  middle  ages  were  the  Northmen.  In  the  south, 
navigation  received  little  improvement  under  the  Sar- 
acen conquerors.  Although  for  several  ages  they 
were  the  most  civilized,  intelligent  and  enterprising 
people  in  Europe,  yet,  having  been  bred  originally  in 
the  interior  of  the  Asiatic  continent,  they  never  ac- 
quired any  strong  maritime  habits.  The  idea  of  the 
termination  of  the  ocean  in  darkness,  which  had  only 
floated  in  the  minds  of  the  ancients,  was  formed  by 
them  into  a  regular  creed.  The  whole  circuit  of  the 
bounding  ocean  of  the  earth,  appears  in  their  maps 
under  the  appellation  of  the  "  Sea  of  Darkness." 
A  region  to  which  such  a  name  was  affixed  was  not 
likely  to  prove  inviting  even  to  enterprising  navigators. 
There  is,  however,  the  record  of  a  voyage  westward 
from  Lisbon,  while  that  city  was  under  the  dominion 
of  the  Saracens.  It  was  performed  by  two  brothers, 
called  Almagrurim  or  the  "  Wanderers,"  and  led  to  the 
discovery  of  some  islands  at  a  considerable  distance 
westward,  which  were  probably  the  Azores.  These 
islands  were  settled  by  the  Portuguese,  who  in  the 
fifteenth  century  were  celebrated  as  the  first  naviga- 
tors in  the  world ;  yet  the  whole  extent  of  the  Atlantic 
remained  a  "  sea  of  darkness,"  till  a  bold  and  enter- 


46  COLUMBUS. 

prising  genius  arose,  and  formed  a  new  era  in  the 
history  of  mankind,  by  tearing  away  the  veil  which 
shrouded  the  mysterious  region,  and  disclosing  a  New 
World  to  the  astonished  eyes  of  Europe. 

Christopher  Columbus,  the  person  who  accom- 
plished this  great  undertaking,  was  born  in  the 
republic  of  Genoa,  about  the  year  1447.  His  father 
is  represented  by  some  writers  as  a  wool-comber,  and 
by  others  as  a  bargeman.  Humble  as  was  his  con- 
dition, he  nevertheless  sent  his  son  to  school,  where 
he  studied  Latin,  geometry,  cosmography  and  astrono- 
my ;  sciences  for  which  he  showed  an  early  predilec- 
tion. He  went  to  sea  about  his  fourteenth  year,  and 
his  first  voyages  were  in  the  Mediterranean ;  but  his 
enterprising  spirit,  not  contented  with  such  narrow 
bounds,  carried  him  into  the  northern  seas,  probably 
in  one  of  the  fishing  vessels  which  then  began  to  fre- 
quent Iceland  and  the  polar  regions.  It  is  highly 
probable  that  in  these  voyages  some  tradition  of  the 
expeditions  of  the  Northmen  to  Vinland  came  to  his 
ears,  and  proved  the  origin  of  those  speculations  and 
researches  which  fired  him  with  the  ambition  of  mak- 
ing discoveries  in  the  west.  He  afterwards  sailed 
with  a  famous  Genoese  corsair  of  his  own  name  and 
family,  and  spent  many  years  cruising  against  the 
Mahometans  and  Venetians,  till  the  vessel  in  which  he 
served  took  fire  in  an  engagement,  and  he  with  diffi- 
culty saved  his  life  by  swimming  ashore. 

Having  thus  acquired  a  considerable  degree  of  nau- 
tical skill  and  experience,  he  repaired  to  Lisbon,  then 
the  great  resort  of  naval  adventurers,  where  his 
brother  Bartholomew  seems  to  have  been  already 


COLUMBUS.  47 

established  in  the  business  of  making  maps  and 
charts.  Here  Christopher  married  the  daughter  of  a 
sea  captain,  employed  in  voyages  of  discovery  by 
Prince  Henry,  of  Portugal ;  thus  he  obtained  access 
to  his  journals  and  charts,  and  gained  a  knowledge 
of  all  that  had  been  done  by  the  Portuguese  in  explor- 
ing the  coast  of  Africa  and  the  adjacent  islands.  He 
made  a  voyage  to  Madeira,  and  for  some  years  traded 
to  that  island,  the  Canaries,  the  Azores,  and  the  settle- 
ments in  Africa.  From  the  information  which  he 
was  thus  enabled  to  obtain,  and  from  profound  medi- 
tation on  the  theory  of  the  globe  as  it  was  then  known, 
assisted  doubtless  by  the  Icelandic  traditions,  Colum- 
bus became  fully  convinced,  not  only  that  there  must 
be  inhabited  lands  farther  west,  but  that  a  shorter 
passage  to  the  East  Indies,  then  the  great  object  of 
the  Portuguese  navigators,  might  be  found  by  steering 
in  that  direction,  than  round  the  continent  of  Africa. 
From  the  letters  which  passed  between  him  and 
Toscanelli,  a  Florentine  physician  of  great  skill  in 
cosmography,  it  appears  that  he  had  entertained  these 
ideas  as  early  as  1474. 

The  ambition  of  making  this  great  discovery  now 
stimulated  Columbus  to  incessant  action.  He  laid  a 
plan  for  the  voyage  before  the  senate  of  Genoa,  but 
narrow  conceptions,  and  the  want  of  an  enterprising 
spirit,  caused  his  proposals  to  be  rejected  by  that  body, 
as  chimerical  and  impracticable.  His  next  application 
was  to  John  II.,  of  Portugal,  who  received  him  favor- 
ably, and  appointed  commissioners  to  examine  his 
plan.  These  persons  were  mean  enough,  while  they 
pretended  to  be  discussing  the  matter,  to  fit  out  pri- 


48  COLUMBUS. 

vately  a  small  vessel,  the  master  of  which,  furnished 
with  the  charts  of  Columbus,  was  to  proceed  in  the 
track  which  he  pointed  out,  and  endeavor  to  anticipate 
him  in  his  discoveries.  This  adventurer  lacked  both 
the  skill  and  courage  requisite  for  such  an  undertak- 
ing-, and  was  soon  compelled  to  return.  Columbus, 
irritated  at  the  meanness  of  this  transaction,  abandoned 
Portugal,  and  proceeded  to  Spain,  where  he  laid  his 
scheme  before  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  The  kingdom 
was  then  involved  in  a  war  with  the  Moors  of  Granada, 
and  the  council  to  whom  the  project  of  Columbus  was 
referred  for  examination,  were  not  sufficiently  enlight- 
ened to  comprehend  his  arguments.  He  was,  there- 
fore, exposed  to  the  chagrin  of  another  rejection;  and 
his  only  hope  seemed  now  to  rest  upon  England, 
whither  he  had  despatched  his  brother  to  lay  his  pro- 
posals before  Henry  VII. 

Columbus  was  about  leaving  Spain,  when  an  inti- 
mate friend,  who  had  a  just  estimation  of  his  character, 
Marchena,  the  guardian  of  a  monastery  near  Palos. 
prevailed  upon  him  to  make  a  second  attempt  at  court. 
By  means  of  his  credit  with  Isabella,  he  found  means 
to  interest  her  in  behalf  of  Columbus.  But  the  cold 
prudence  of  Ferdinand  again  caused  his  rejection, 
and  Columbus  was  on  the  point  of  embarking  for 
England,  when  the  interposition  of  some  zealous 
patron  wrought  a  sudden  change  in  his  favor.  The 
queen  now  offered  to  pawn  her  jewels  to  raise  funds 
for  the  enterprise,  and  a  treaty  was  immediately  con- 
cluded. Columbus  was  to  be  high  admiral  in  all  the 
seas  discovered  by  him,  and  viceroy  in  the  territories, 
with  a  tenth  part  of  the  profits  accruing  from  the  dis- 


COLUMBUS.  49 

coveries.  A  fleet  was  immediately  fitted  out;  but 
the  whole  adventure  of  the  kingdom  of  Spain  on 
this  great  occasion,  consisted  of  but  three  small  ves- 
sels, carrying  ninety  men  in  all. 

With  this  insignificant  equipment,  which  was  des- 
tined to  accomplish  an  achievement  tenfold  more 
important  than  that  contemplated  by  the  Invincible 
Armada,  Columbus  set  sail  from  the  small  seaport 
of  Palos,  in  Andalusia,  on  the  3d  of  August,  1492. 
He  first  directed  his  course  toward  the  Canaries,  where 
he  was  obliged  to  refit  his  crazy  barks,  which  even  in 
this  short  run  were  found  unseaworthy.  Having 
accomplished  this,  he  boldly  launched  into  the  un- 
known regions  of  the  Atlantic,  on  the  6th  of  Septem- 
ber, and  stood  due  west.  Scarcely  had  the  fleet  lost 
sight  of  land,  when  the  courage  of  his  crew,  which 
had  hitherto  continued  firm,  began  to  give  way  before 
the  terrors  of  the  "sea  of  darkness."  When  they 
found  themselves  on  a  trackless  ocean,  without  a  chart 
of  the  mysterious  waste  into  which  they  were  plung- 
ing, doubts  and  apprehensions  began  to  appall  them. 
Some  fell  to  sighing  and  weeping,  and  exclaimed  that 
they  never  should  behold  the  land  again.  The  varia- 
tion of  the  needle,  a  phenomenon  now  for  the  first  time 
observed,  struck  them  with  new  terror.  Columbus, 
however,  continued  resolute;  he  was  constantly  on 
deck  with  the  sounding  line  or  astrolabe  in  his  hand, 
observing  every  uncommon  appearance  in  the  sea  and 
sky,  and  noting  down  everything  with  philosophical 
accuracy. 

Three  weeks  passed  in  this  manner ;  no  land  was 

D  VII. — 5 


»50  COLUMBUS. 

seen ;  the  trade-wind  was  hurrying  them  westward, 
and  they  had  already  proceeded  to  a  great  distance — 
greater  indeed  than  they  suspected,  as  Columbus  kept 
two  reckonings,  the  one  accurate,  for  his  own  use,  and 
the  other  with  diminished  computations  of  each  day's 
sailing,  which  was  open  to  the  inspection  of  his  men. 
By  this  artifice,  and  his  ingenuity  in  explaining  every 
anusual  appearance  that  alarmed  the  crews,  he  kept 
them  tolerably  quiet  for  some  days  longer,  when,  no 
signs  of  land  appearing,  their  terrors  were  renewed, 
and  a  mutinous  spirit  began  to  show  itself.  Some 
talked  of  throwing  their  commander  overboard,  should 
he  persist  in  an  undertaking  which  must  prove  fatal 
to  them  all.  Columbus,  with  admirable  patience, 
firmness,  and  dexterity,  by  the  employment  of  persua- 
sions, arguments  and  threats,  quelled  this  rebellious 
spirit,  and  continued  boldly  steering  to  the  west.  At 
length,  on  the  evening  of  the  llth  of  October,  a  light 
was  discovered  ahead,  and  soon  after  land  was  seen 
by  the  foremost  vessel.  The  fleet  lay  to,  and  when 
the  morning  dawned  they  descried  a  flat  and  pleasant 
island,  full  of  limpid  rivulets  and  abundance  of  green 
bushes.  The  crews  were  filled  with  the  liveliest 
transports  of  joy ;  they  threw  themselves  at  the  feet 
of  their  commander,  begging  pardon  for  their  past 
conduct,  and  almost  considering  as  divinely  inspired, 
the  man  whom  they  lately  reviled  as  a  visionary  and 
an  impostor. 

This  island  was  Guanahani,  one  of  the  Lucayas  or 
Bahama  Islands.  Columbus  named  it  San  Salvador. 
This,  as  well  as  the  neighboring  islands,  and  the  still 
greater  ones  of  Cuba  and  Hayti,  which  he  visited  in 


COLUMBUS.  51 

this  voyage,  were  found  to  be  inhabited  by  an  inno- 
cent people,  in  the  simplicity  of  pure  nature  ready  to 
believe  that  the  Spaniards  were  superior  beings,  and 
too  unsuspecting  to  regard  with  jealousy  any  proceed- 
ings undertaken  by  these  wonderful  strangers.  At 
Hayti,  which  Columbus  named  Espanola,  he  lost  one 
of  his  vessels  by  shipwreck.  The  humanity  of  the 
natives  enabled  him  to  save  all  her  equipment,  and  he 
built  a  fort  on  this  island,  where  he  left  a  body  of  his 
men,  and  sailed  for  home,  carrying  some  of  the  natives 
and  specimens  of  the  productions  of  the  country, 
among  which  was  a  sufficient  quantity  of  gold  to 
stimulate  highly  the  avarice  of  the  Spaniards.  On 
the  voyage  to  Spain,  he  encountered  a  violent  storm, 
in  which  his  two  shattered  vessels  were  menaced  with 
destruction.  While  all  his  men  were  overwhelmed 
with  a  sense  of  personal  danger,  Columbus  was  medi- 
tating on  the  means  of  preserving  a  record  of  his 
great  discovery.  Retiring  to  his  cabin,  he  wrote  a 
succinct  account  of  all  he  had  seen  and  done,  which 
he  carefully  inclosed  in  wax,  secured  in  a  tight  cask, 
and  committed  to  the  ocean,  in  hopes  that  chance 
might  land  it  on  the  coast  of  Europe.  Happily,  how- 
ever, the  storm  abated,  and  Columbus,  after  touching 
at  the  Azores  and  Lisbon,  arrived  at  Palos,  after  an 
absence  of  seven  months  and  eleven  days  from  that 
port. 

His  safe  arrival  was  hailed  with  general  rejoicing 
and  unbounded  admiration.  He  was  received  by  the 
king  and  queen  with  all  the  honors  due  to  one  who 
had  accomplished  so  important  an  enterprise.  His 
family  was  ennobled,  and  every  degree  of  respect  was 


£J  COLUMBUS. 

shown  him  by  the  court  and  the  grandees.  A  second 
expedition  was  planned,  on  a  much  larger  scale  than 
the  first ;  and  Columbus  soon  set  sail  with  a  fleet  of 
seventeen  ships  and  fifteen  hundred  men,  well  equip- 
ped for  the  foundation  of  a  colony.  On  this  second 
voyage,  he  fell  in  with  the  Caribbee  Islands,  which  he 
found  peopled  with  a  fierce  and  warlike  race  of  savages, 
who  never  permitted  the  Spaniards  to  land  without  a 
spirited  opposition.  On  reaching  Espanola,  he  found 
the  little  garrison  which  he  had  left  there  totally  extir- 
pated ;  a  catastrophe  brought  on  by  their  own  ill-con- 
duct toward  the  natives.  The  foundation  of  a  town 
was  now  laid,  named  Isabella;  expeditions  were  des- 
patched into  the  interior  in  search  of  gold.  The 
island  of  Jamaica  was  also  discovered.  The  avarice 
and  cruelty  of  the  new  settlers  soon  brought  a  dreadful 
train  of  wars  upon  the  unfortunate  natives.  The 
outrages  of  the  Spaniards  drove  them  to  hostilities. 
The  superiority  of  the  Europeans  in  arms,  discipline 
and  courage,  soon  triumphed  over  countless  multi- 
tudes, and  the  wretched  natives  were  either  put  to 
death,  or  reduced  to  servitude. 

Columbus  having  returned  to  Spain,  in  order  to 
silence  the  complaints  which  the  discontented  colonists 
had  sent  home  against  him,  again  embarked  in  1498. 
On  this  third  voyage,  he  stood  farther  to  the  south 
than  before,  and  discovered  the  island  of  Trinidad,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  the  vast  size  of  which 
river  assured  him  that  it  must  take  its  rise  in  a  conti- 
nent. He  next  touched  upon  various  parts  of  the 
coast  of  the  Spanish  Main,  which  he,  however,  imag- 
ined to  be  an  island.  On  arriving  at  Espanola,  he 


COLUMBUS.  53 

found  the  settlement  in  a  most  unprosperous  condi- 
tion, and  threatened  with  a  civil  war.  These  troubles 
he  composed  as  well  as  he  was  able ;  but  such  a 
rancorous  spirit  was  excited  against  him,  that  his  ene- 
mies succeeded  in  persuading  the  queen  to  revoke  his 
commission  of  viceroy,  and  appoint  Bovadilla  in  his 
place.  This  officer,  on  his  arrival  in  the  New  World, 
placed  Columbus  and  his  two  brothers  in  irons,  and 
sent  them  prisoners  to  Spain.  So  gross  an  outrage 
shocked  every  honest  mind  in  the  kingdom.  Blush- 
ing for  their  own  ingratitude,  and  the  stain  thus 
thrown  upon  Castilian  honor,  the  king  and  queen 
instantly  liberated  Columbus,  and  invited  him  to  court, 
where  he  was  received  with  all  external  civility. 
Nothing  was  done,  however,  to  re-instate  him  in  his 
office ;  and  so  deeply  did  the  insult  he  had  sustained 
sink  into  his  mind,  that  he  always  carried  about  him 
the  fetters  he  had  worn,  hung  them  up  in  his  cham- 
ber, and  gave  orders  that  they  should  be  buried  with 
him.  His  passion  for  discovery,  however,  induced 
him  to  propose  another  voyage,  of  which  the  leading 
purpose  was  his  original  idea  of  opening  a  new  track 
to  the  East  Indies. 

On  this  voyage,  accompanied  by  his  brother  Bar- 
tholomew and  his  son  Ferdinand,  he  set  sail  for  the 
New  World,  the  last  time,  in  May,  1502.  When  he 
arrived  at  Espanola,  he  found  a  fleet  of  eighteen 
ships,  richly  laden,  about  to  sail  for  Spain.  The 
experience  which  Columbus  had  acquired  in  navigat- 
ing these  seas,  enabled  him  to  foresee  an  approaching 
hurricane.  He  requested  permission  to  enter  the  har- 
bor of  St.  Domingo,  and  at  the  same  time  warned  the 
5* 


54  COLUMBUS. 

fleet  not  to  sail.  His  request  was  refused  and  his 
warning  disregarded.  The  hurricane  came  on.  By 
proper  precautions,  he  escaped  its  fury;  but  it  fell 
with  such  destructive  violence  on  the  homeward- 
bound  fleet,  that  only  two  or  three  ships  were  saved. 
Bovadilla,  and  several  other  inveterate  enemies  of 
Columbus, perished,  with  all  their  wealth;  and  it  was 
considered  remarkable  that  the  ship  in  which  were 
embarked  the  remnants  of  the  property  of  Columbus, 
was  one  of  those  that  escaped  the  general  destruction. 

He  proceeded  on  his  voyage,  and  explored  the  coast 
of  the  isthmus  of  Darien,  in  search  of  a  passage  to 
the  South  Sea.  He  then  coasted  along  the  continent 
to  the  north,  where  his  fleet  was  shattered  by  a  series 
of  terrible  storms.  After  incredible  sufferings,  he 
steered  toward  Jamaica,  and  was  barely  able  to  keep 
his  ships  from  sinking  long  enough  to  reach  that 
island.  Here  they  were  run  aground,  so  completely 
eaten  up  by  the  worms  as  to  be  incapable  of  repair. 
In  Jamaica,  Columbus  suffered  great  distress  from  the 
mutiny  and  desertion  of  his  men,  and  the  disaffec- 
tion of  the  natives,  who  withheld  their  supplies  of 
provisions,  till,  by  the  prediction  of  an  eclipse,  which 
immediately  followed,  he  obtained  a  complete  author- 
ity over  their  minds.  At  length,  he  was  delivered 
by  a  squadron  which  had  sailed  from  Espanola,  and, 
after  a  short  stay  at  San  Domingo,  he  returned  to 
Spain,  in  December,  1504. 

He  had  now  the  mortification  of  finding  his  best 
friend,  Isabella,  dead  ;  and  Ferdinand,  always  preju- 
diced against  him,  was  little  disposed  to  redress  his 
injuries.  Though  received  with  cool  civility,  his 


COLUMBUS.  55 

repeated  petitions  for  a  restitution  of  the  dignities*  and 
emoluments  to  which  he  was  entitled  by  treaty,  were 
neglected  or  evaded,  and  he  was  even  insulted  with  a 
proposal  that  he  should  renounce  them  for  a  pension. 
At  length,  overwhelmed  with  cares  and  disappoint- 
ments, he  closed  his  life  in  poverty,  at  Valladolid,  on 
the  20th  of  May,  1506.  Such  were  the  dishonesty 
and  ingratitude  of  the  Spanish  court  to  the  man  who, 
in  the  language  of  his  epitaph,  "  gave  a  new  world 
to  Castile  and  Leon."  His  eldest  son  instituted  a 
lawsuit  against  the  king,  and  compelled  him  to  render 
that  justice  which  he  had  denied  to  his  father.  The 
descendants  of  Columbus  have  existed  in  Spain  to 
the  present  day,  under  the  title  of  the  Dukes  of  Vera- 
gua. 

The  discoverer  of  the  New  World  was  not  only 
defrauded  of  the  profits  of  his  great  achievement,  but 
likewise  of  the  glory  of  giving  his  name  to  the  terri- 
tory which  he  discovered.  Amerigo  Vespucci,  a 
Florentine  navigator,  made  several  voyages  to  the 
New  World  after  Columbus,  and  published  accounts 
of  them,  in  which,  either  by  a  designed  fraud  or  uncon- 
scious error,  he  represented  himself  as  being  the  first 
European  who  saw  the  main  land.  Columbus,  on  his 
third  voyage,  made  the  first  discovery  of  the  conti- 
nent at  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco ;  but  the  misrepre- 
sentation of  Vespucci  was  not  exposed  till  the  name 
of  America  was  given  to  the  northern  portion  of  South 
America,  which  he  pretended  to  have  originally  dis- 
covered. Vespucci  himself  had  not  the  smallest 
conception  of  the  enormous  extent  to  which  this 
misapplication  of  his  name  would  spread.  America 


56  COLUMBUS. 

would  have  been  the  name  of  a  territory  no  larger 
than  Cuba  or  Jamaica,  had  the  region  of  Paria  been 
an  island;  but  the  unbroken  extent  of  the  continent 
caused  the  name  to  be  gradually  applied  to  larger 
portions  of  the  New  World,  till  it  became  a  general 
appellation  for  a  whole  quarter  of  the  globe.  Never 
before  did  chance  make  a  man's  name  so  celebrated. 
In  our  concluding  remarks,  we  shall  copy  the  lan- 
guage of  Mr.  Irving.  "  Columbus  was  a  man  of 
great  and  inventive  genius.  The  operations  of  his 
mind  were  energetic  but  irregular ;  sallying  forth  at 
times  with  that  irresistible  force  which  characterizes 
intellects  of  this  order.  He  had  grasped  all  kinds  of 
knowledge  connected  with  his  pursuits ;  and  though 
his  information  may  appear  limited  at  the  present 
day,  and  some  of  his  errors  palpable,  it  is  because 
knowledge  in  his  peculiar  department  of  science  was 
but  scantily  developed  in  his  time.  His  own  discov- 
eries enlightened  the  ignorance  of  that  age,  guided 
conjecture  to  certainty,  and  dispelled  numerous  errors 
with  which  he  himself  had  been  obliged  to  struggle. 
His  conduct  as  a  discoverer  was  characterized  by  the 
grandeur  of  his  views  and  the  magnanimity  of  his 
spirit.  Instead  of  scouring  the  newly-found  regions 
like  a  grasping  adventurer,  eager  only  for  immediate 
gain,  as  was  too  generally  the  case  with  contemporary 
discoverers,  he  sought  to  ascertain  their  soil  and  pro- 
ductions, their  rivers  and  harbors.  He  was  desirous 
of  colonizing  and  cultivating  them,  and  civilizing  the 
natives,  of  building  cities,  introducing  the  useful  arts, 
subjecting  everything  to  the  control  of  law,  order  and 
religion,  and  thus  of  founding  regular  and  prosperous 


COLUMBUS.  57 

empires.  In  this  glorious  plan,  he  was  constantly 
defeated  by  the  dissolute  rabble  which  he  was  doomed 
to  command,  with  Avhom  all  law  was  tyranny,  and  all 
order  restraint. 

"  He  died  in  ignorance  of  the  real  grandeur  of  his 
discovery.  Until  his  last  breath,  he  entertained  the 
idea  that  he  had  merely  opened  a  new  way  to  the  old 
resorts  of  opulent  commerce,  and  had  discovered  some 
of  the  wild  regions  of  the  East.  He  supposed  Espa- 
nola  to  be  the  ancient  Ophir  which  had  been  visited 
by  the  ships  of  Solomon,  and  that  Cuba  and  Terra 
Firma  were  remote  parts  of  Asia.  What  visions  of 
glory  would  have  broke  upon  his  mind  could  he  have 
known  that  he  had,  indeed,  discovered  a  new  conti- 
nent, equal  to  the  whole  of  the  Old  World  in  magni- 
tude, and  separated  by  two  vast  oceans  from  all  of  the 
earth  hitherto  known  by  civilized  man !  And  how 
would  his  magnanimous  spirit  have  been  consoled 
amidst  the  chills  of  age  and  cares  of  penury,  the  neg- 
lect of  a  fickle  public,  and  the  injustice  of  an  ungrate- 
ful king,  could  he  have  anticipated  the  splendid 
empires,  which  were  to  spread  over  the  beautiful 
world  he  had  discovered,  and  the  nations  and  lan- 
guages which  were  to  fill  its  lands  with  renown,  and 
to  revere  and  bless  his  name  to  the  latest  posterity !  " 


EL  DOKADO. 


THE  first  conquerors  of  the  Spanish  Main,  as  they 
penetrated  into  the  interior,  received  information  from, 
the  various  Indian  tribes,  which  worked  strongly  upon 
their  excited  imagination  and  avaricious  feelings. 
They  were  assured  that  by  marching  a  considerable 
distance  to  the  south,  they  would  come  to  a  region  on 
the  shores  of  a  broad  lake,  inhabited  by  Indians  of  a 
peculiar  character,  known  by  the  name  of  Omegas. 
These  people  were  represented  as  highly  civilized, 
living  under  regular  laws,  principally  in  a  large  city, 
the  houses  of  which  were  covered  with  silver.  Ac- 
cording to  the  accounts,  the  magistrates  and  ministers 
of  religion  wore  habits  of  massy  gold.  All  their  fur 


EL   DORADO.  59 

niture  was  of  gold  and  silver.  The  nation,  equally 
populous  and  warlike,  kept  on  foot  armies  so  formi- 
dable as  to  render  them  the  terror  of  the  surrounding- 
tribes.  In  every  part  of  Venezuela  and  Caraccas,  to 
which  the  Spaniards  directed  their  steps,  they  received 
similar  accounts,  and  from  Indians  too  far  separated 
by  distance  to  have  combined  in  the  invention  of  the 
tale.  It  did  not  appear  that  superstition  had  any 
share  in  these  traditions,  for  no  supernatural  virtue  Or' 
power  was  attributed  to  the  Omegas. 

These  accounts  were  confirmed  by  information  frorrj 
other  quarters.  In  Peru,  Pizarro  and  his  followers 
received  intelligence  of  the  existence  of  a  nation, 
called  the  Omaguas,  on  the  borders  of  a  lake  to  the 
northeast  of  that  country.  The  representations  agreed 
with  those  of  Venezuela,  respecting  the  riches  of  these 
people,  their  power  and  policy.  It  was  said  that  after 
the  destruction  of  the  Incas,  a  younger  brother  of 
Atahualpa  had  fled  from  Peru,  carrying  with  him  the 
greater  part  of  the  royal  treasures,  and  founded  a 
greater  empire  in  the  north  than  that  of  which  he  had 
been  deprived.  Sometimes,  this  emperor  was  called 
the  Great  Paytiti,  sometimes  the  Great  Moxo,  some- 
times the  Enim,  or  Great  Paru.  It  is  undeniable 
that  Manco  Inca,  the  brother  of  Atahualpa,  made  his 
escape  to  the  regions  east  of  the  Cordilleras ;  the  re- 
mainder of  his  history  is  not  clearly  known. 

An  Indian  at  Lima  affirmed  that  he  had  been  in 
the  capital  of  this  country,  the  city  of  Manoa,  of  which 
he  gave  a  minute  description.  Three  thousand  work- 
men were  employed  in  the  street  of  the  silversmiths. 
The  columns  of  the  emperor's  palace  were  of  porphyry 


60 


EL    DORADO. 


and  alabaster ;  the  galleries  of  ebony  and  cedar  ;  the 
throne  was  of  ivory,  and  the  ascent  to  it  by  steps  of 
gold.  The  palace  stood  on  a  small  island  in  the  lake. 
It  was  built  of  white  stone.  At  the  entrance  were  two 
towers,  and  between  them  was  a  column  twenty-five 
feet  in  height ;  on  the  top  of  this  was  a  large  silver 
moon ;  and  two  pumas,  or  American  lions,  were  fas- 
tened to  the  base  with  chains  of  gold.  Beyond  the 
place  occupied  by  these  was  a  quadrangle  planted 
with  trees,  and  watered  by  a  silver  fountain,  which 
spouted  .through  four  golden  pipes.  The  gate  of  the 
palace  was  of  copper.  Within,  a  golden  sun  was 
placed  on  an  altar  of  silver,  and  four  lamps  were  kept 
burning  before  it,  day  and  night. 

This  territory  obtained  the  name  of  El  Dorado, 
which  means  "  the  gilded,"  and  is  variously  derived. 
According  to  some  accounts,  it  refers  to  the  costume 
of  the  emperor,  who  was  anointed  every  morning 
with  a  certain  precious  and  fragrant  gum,  after  which 
gold-dust  was  blown  upon  him  through  a  tube,  till  he 
was  encrusted  with  gold.  This  the  barbarian  thought 
a  more  magnificent  and  costly  attire  than  could  be  af- 
forded by  any  other  potentate  in  the  world.  Accord- 
ing to  others,  it  was  the  chief  priest  who  was  gilded. 
All  these  stories  found  a  ready  belief  in  the  minds  of 
the  Spaniards,  fashioned  to  credulity  by  the  wonders 
of  the  New  World,  and  the  obscurity  in  which  much 
of  it  long  remained  involved.  They  who  could  be- 
lieve in  the  existence  of  a  fountain  whose  waters  had 
the  virtue  to  restore  to  youth  and  beauty  the  old  and 
decrepit,  could  have  no  difficulty  in  giving  their  faith 
to  the  golden  marvels  of  El  Dorado,  a  region  which 


EL   DORADO.  61 

differed  from  the  known  part  of  the  continent  only  in 
enjoying  a  superiority  in  wealth.  The  accounts  of 
Peru  itself  had  been  equally  incredible  before  being 
verified  by  the  conquest. 

No  geographical  fiction  ever  occasioned  so  vast  an 
expenditure  of  human  life.  The  attempts  to  discover 
this  wonderful  region,  cost  the  Spaniards  more  men 
and  treasure,  than  all  their  substantial  conquests  in 
the  New  World.  A  history  of  the  expeditions  in 
search  of  El  Dorado,  would  form  a  most  singularly 
curious  and  interesting  volume.  There  is  nothing  in 
romance  to  surpass  the  wonderful  dangers,  privations 
and  sufferings  endured  by  the  adventurers  in  these 
undertakings.  Yet  neither  the  disasters,  nor  even 
the  almost  total  destruction  of  many  of  the  bands, 
prevented  others  from  following  them.  New  adven- 
turers were  found  to  follow  in  quick  succession ; 
although  the  former  had  returned  discomfited  and 
disappointed,  the  last  always  flattered  themselves 
with  the  hope  that  the  discovery  of  El  Dorado  would 
be  accomplished  by  them.  The  mania  continued 
for  ages,  and  was  considered  by  some  of  the  Spanish 
religionists  as  a  device  of  the  devil  to  lure  mankind 
to  their  destruction. 

Among  these  daring  spirits  was  Philip  Von  Hutten, 
whose  expedition  is  so  much  the  more  worthy  of 
notice,  as  it  was  very  nearly  successful,  and  actually 
substantiates  a  part,  at  least,  of  the  story  of  El  Dorado. 
As  this  singular  and  interesting  portion  of  American 
history  is  probably  not  familiar  to  most  of  our  readers, 
we  shall  dwell  with  some  minuteness  upon  its  details, 
particularly  as  they  furnish  materials  the  least  equiv  - 
ni.-— 6 


OZ  EL   DORADO. 

ocal  which  can  be  found,  respecting  the  explanation 
of  the  great  mystery.  Von  Hutten  was  one  of  those 
German  adventurers  who  formed  the  first  expedition 
of  the  Welsers  to  Venezuela,  in  1528.  Less  savage 
than  his  companions,  he  did  not  yield  to  them  in 
ambition  and  intrepidity.  From  the  time  of  his  arrival 
in  America,  to  his  death,  a  period  of  fifteen  years,  he 
seemed  scarcely  to  have  enjoyed  a  single  instant  of 
repose.  Always  on  the  march,  fighting  the  Indians, 
living  on  wild  fruits,  exposed  to  all  the  extremes  of  an 
insalubrious  climate,  his  life  was  a  tissue  of  dangers 
and  sufferings.  In  the  course  of  his  expeditions  into 
the  country  in  1541,  chance  led  him  to  a  place  where 
he  learned  that  Quesada,  one  of  the  conquerors  of 
Santa  Fe  de  Bogota,  had  just  passed  with  a  body  of 
infantry  and  cavalry,  in  quest  of  El  Dorado.  The 
news  was  true.  Quesada  marched  a  long  distance, 
suffered  much,  and  discovered  nothing.  Von  Hutten 
determined  to  follow  in  his  track,  in  order  to  obtain  at 
least  a  part  of  the  riches  of  El  Dorado,  should  he 
arrive  too  late  to  share  in  the  conquest. 

After  many  days  of  incredible  fatigue,  he  reached 
the  province  of  Papamena.  He  found  there  an  Indian 
equally  distinguished  by  his  rank  and  superior  under- 
standing. Von  Hutten  told  him  of  his  design.  The 
Indian  answered,  with  every  appearance  of  good  faith, 
that  by  continuing  his  march  in  that  direction,  he 
would  only  find  uninhabited  countries  and  deserts, 
where  his  men  would  starve  to  death.  But  if  he 
wished,  the  Indian  added,  he  would  conduct  him  in 
person  to  a  region  abounding  in  gold  and  silver ;  this 
country  was  to  the  east,  on  the  Guayuava,  near  the 


EL   DORADO.  63 

Lake  of  Parima.  The  Indian  even  showed  him  some 
apples  of  gold  which  his  brother  had  lately  brought 
from  thence.  Von  Hutten  saw  fit  to  discredit  this 
account,  and  pursued  the  route  followed  by  Quesada, 
taking  the  Indian  with  him  as  a  guide.  But  after  a 
march  of  eight  days,  amid  all  sorts  of  difficulties  and 
obstructions,  the  Indian,  seeing  that  nothing  could 
change  the  resolution  of  the  Christians,  took  the 
opportunity  of  a  dark  night  to  escape.  His  flight, 
together  with  the  badness  of  the  roads,  excited  mur- 
murs against  the  leader  of  the  band,  who,  however, 
continued  obstinately  bent  on  pushing  forward.  All 
the  soldiers  complained  of  him  for  not  following  the 
advice  of  the  Indian.  He  alone  remained  immov- 
able in  his  resolution. 

A  few  days  after,  they  discovered  a  mountain  re- 
sembling that  at  the  foot  of  which  El  Dorado  was 
said  to  be  situated ;  but,  on  exploring  it,  their  hopes 
were  disappointed.  The  army,  now  reduced  by  intense 
fatigue  and  suffering,  were  obliged  to  pass  the  rainy 
season  here,  and  endure  the  most  cruel  effects  of 
hunger.  Ants  and  reptiles  were  their  only  food. 
Many  of  the  men  swelled  up  and  died  in  the  most 
excruciating  agonies  ;  others  lost  their  hair,  their  eye- 
brows, eye-lashes  and  nails.  As  soon  as  the  favora- 
ble season  returned,  Von  Hulten  began  his  retreat  to 
Coro,  then  the  capital  of  Venezuela.  On  his  march, 
he  was  obstructed  by  inundations,  and  halted,  till  the 
waters  should  subside,  at  a  village  called  Nuestra 
Senora  de  Fragoa.  While  his  men  were  reposing 
themselves,  and  thought  only  of  the  pleasure  of  re- 
turning home,  their  commander,  irritated  at  his  disap- 


64  EL    DORADO. 

pointment,  fixed  his  mind  upon  new  endeavors  to 
retrieve  his  fortunes.  From  the  Indians  of  the  neigh- 
borhood, he  learnt  that  there  was  a  region  in  a  certain 
quarter,  richer  by  far  than  any  that  had  yet  been 
discovered.  The  inhabitants,  called  the  Omegas, 
were  represented  as  a  warlike  and  ferocious  race. 
Other  Indians  called  them  Itaguas,  but  they  all  agreed 
as  to  the  topographical  situation  of  the  country. 

Fired  anew  with  brilliant  hopes,  Von  Hutten  deter- 
mined to  march  immediately  for  the  Omegas.  His 
army  was  now  reduced  to  forty  men ;  but  as  soon  as 
the  plains  were  clear  of  water,  he  moved  forward. 
The  Indians  offered  to  conduct  him  safely  to  the 
banks  of  the  Guayuava,  and  they  kept  their  word. 
He  marched  to  the  river  by  roads  tolerably  commo- 
dious, and  there  acquired  fresh  information.  The 
natives  told  him  that  the  city  of  Macatoa,  through 
which  he  must  necessarily  pass,  was  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river;  this  he  could  not  cross  without  a 
canoe.  One  of  these  Indians  appeared  to  him  so 
sincere,  that  he  commissioned  him  to  go  and  apprize 
the  inhabitants  that  he  was  there  with  forty  men,  on 
his  way  to  more  distant  provinces ;  and  that  he  re- 
quested a  passage  and  the  friendship  of  the  natives, 
to  whom  he  offered  his  own.  The  Indian  fulfilled 
this  commission,  and  returned  the  next  morning  with 
the  son  of  the  cacique,  who  was  sent  by  his  father  to 
offer  his  friendship  and  hospitality  to  the  strangers. 
Von  Hutten,  with  his  men,  proceeded  to  Macatoa,  and 
was  received  in  the  kindest  manner. 

The  cacique,  being  told  of  their  design,  informed 
them  that  the  country  of  the  Omegas  was  in  fact  full 


EL   DORADO.  65 

of  gold  and  silver,  but  that  its  population  was  so 
great,  and  so  disciplined  to  Avar,  that  their  attempt, 
with  so  small  a  body  of  men,  was  most  rash  and 
impracticable.  No  prospect  of  danger  or  difficulty, 
however,  could  shake  the  inflexible  determination 
of  the  commander ;  and  he  therefore  continued  his 
march.  The  cacique  furnished  him  with  guides  as 
far  as  the  next  town,  which  was  distant  nine  days' 
journey,  and  gave  him  also  recommendations  to  the 
cacique,  who  was  his  friend.  This  march  was  per- 
formed with  tolerable  comfort,  as  the  roads  through 
the  wilderness  were  well  wrought.  The  second 
cacique  received  the  strangers  with  great  affability. 
Like  his  friend  of  Macatoa,  he  told  the  general  that  his 
undertaking  was  utterly  extravagant  and  desperate ; 
but  he  also  assured  him  that  all  which  had  been  related 
of  the  Omegas  was  true.  No  nation  had  ever  attacked 
them  with  success,  and  it  was  contrary  to  common 
sense  to  Suppose  that  forty  men,  even  though  they 
had  the  strength  and  courage  of  lions,  could  subdue  a 
whole  nation  highly  populous  and  warlike.  These 
representations,  however,  did  not  stagger  the  obstinate 
and  self-willed  leader ;  and  the  cacique,  finding  him 
resolved  to  make  the  attempt,  consented  to  guide  him 
to  the  country  he  was  seeking ;  but  warning  him  and 
his  men,  at  the  same  time,  to  bear  in  mind  that  he  had 
done  his  utmost  to  avert  their  calamitous  fate.  All 
this  was  heard  with  coolness  and  indifference ;  no- 
thing was  thought  of  but  the  region  of  gold  and  silver. 
After  four  days'  march,  they  arrived  at  a  mountain, 
on  the  skirts  of  which  they  saw  four  or  five  villages 
surrounded  by  well-cultivated  fields  ;  further  off  their 
E  6* 


66  EL   DORADO. 

eyes  were  ravished  by  the  prospect  of  a  broad  and 
most  delightful  valley,  in  which  stood  a  city  so  ex- 
tensive as  to  stretch  beyond  their  view.  The  streets 
appeared  to  be  regularly  laid  out,  and  the  houses  well 
and  compactly  built.  "  There,"  exclaimed  the  cacique, 
"  is  the  capital  of  the  Omegas.  Behold  this  famous 
region  whose  riches  the  Spaniards  so  ardently  covet. 
That  edifice  in  the  centre  of  the  city  is  the  dwelling 
of  the  governor,  and  the  temple  of  a  number  of  gods. 
The  population  of  the  place  is  immense,  and  the 
order  that  is  preserved  there  is  admirable.  The 
houses  which  you  see  scattered  on  the  sides  of  the 
hills  round  the  city,  are  inhabited  by  those  who  prac- 
tise agriculture,  while  the  others  exercise  the  trade  of 
war.  Now  that  you  yourself  see  the  strength  of  these 
people,  you  can  reflect  anew  on  the  temerity  of  your 
project.  If  you  persist,  I  must  withdraw,  and  pray  to 
the  gods  to  protect  your  lives." 

Nothing  could  now  repress  the  ardor  of  the  adven- 
turers, inflamed  by  the  sight  of  the  object  which  they 
had  been  so  long  pursuing.  They  took  leave  of  the 
cacique,  and  marched  immediately  to  the  city.  On 
approaching  some  houses,  they  met  a  few  of  the  In- 
dians, who,  struck  with  surprise  at  the  sight  of  men 
with  beards,  white  faces,  and  in  strange  dresses, 
instantly  took  to  flight.  These  were  pursued,  and 
Von  Hutten  unfortunately  overtook  and  seized  one  of 
them.  The  Indian  was  armed  with  a  lance,  and 
instantly  aimed  a  blow  at  his  adversary,  who,  finding 
himself  severely  wounded  between  the  ribs,  quitted 
his  hold,  and  the  Indian  escaped.  The  adventurers 
soon  heard  in  the  city  a  great  noise  of  drums  and 


EL    DORADO.  67 

other  instruments  of  war,  mingled  with  the  most  ter- 
rific cries.  Night  was  now  approaching,  and  they 
retreated,  carrying  off  their  wounded  commander  in  a 
hammock. 

They  passed  the  night  on  a  neighboring  mountain, 
and  the  next  morning  beheld  an  army  of  several  thou- 
sand Indians  marching  out  of  the  city  in  pursuit  of 
them.  Von  Hutten  was  unable  to  fight,  and  resigned 
the  command  to  his  chief  officer,  Limpias.  A  battle 
now  ensued,  similar  to  the  conflicts  between  the 
soldiers  of  Cortez  and  the  Mexicans.  The  superior 
arms,  valor  and  resolution  of  the  Spaniards,  enabled 
them  to  resist  the  attacks  of  an  immense  throng  of 
assailants.  Not  one  of  them  was  killed ;  and  the 
Omegas  retreated,  leaving  the  field  of  battle  covered 
with  heaps  of  their  slain.  But  the  Spaniards  were 
now  convinced  of  the  desperate  character  of  their 
undertaking,  and  unanimously  agreed  that  the  con- 
quest of  the  Omegas  could  not  be  effected  without  a 
much  stronger  military  force.  They  returned  to  the 
cacique  who  had  acted  as  their  guide,  and  here  reposed 
themselves  for  some  days.  The  general  was  cured 
of  his  wound,  and,  after  obtaining  from  the  cacique  all 
the  information  necessary  for  rendering  -a  second 
journey  more  rapid  and  easy,  he  took  his  departure 
for  Coro,  intending  to  organize  a  new  expedition 
against  the  Omegas ;  but  before  he  reached  that  place, 
he  was  assassinated  at  the  instigation  of  a  usurper 
named  Carvajal,  who  by  means  of  a  forged  commis- 
sion had  seized  upon  the  government  of  Venezuela, 
and  did  not  think  himself  secure  in  his  usurpation  till 
he  had  got  rid  of  Von  Hutten,  who,  it  seems,  had 


68  EL   DORADO. 

been  appointed  lieutenant  general.  His  most  faithful 
adherents  were  also  assassinated  with  him.  Such 
was  the  close  of  this  memorable  expedition,  which 
occupied  the  space  of  four  years. 

Among  the  numerous  adventurers  who  shared  in 
the  expeditions  for  the  discovery  of  El  Doracjo,  was 
Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  an  Englishman  of  the  highest 
talent  and  character.  A  man  of  his  chivalrous  feel- 
ings could  not  but  be  filled  with  admiration  at  the 
courage  and  energy  which  had  been  exhibited  by  the 
Spaniards  in  the  pursuit  of  this  romantic  and  brilliant 
object.  Having  also  a  firm  belief  in  the  real  exist- 
ence of  El  Dorado,  he  determined  to  make  an  attempt 
to  discover  it  himself.  The  multiplied  failures  of  the 
Spaniards  produced  in  him  a  strong  conviction,  not 
that  they  had  wasted  their  strength  in  pursuit  of  a 
phantom,  but  only  that  they  had  missed  the  right  way. 
In  classing  Raleigh,  however,  with  the  knights-errant 
of  El  Dorado,  we  must  in  justice  to  his  memory  state, 
that  his  aims  were  of  a  far  higher  order  than  those  of 
other  adventurers.  A  part  of  his  design  was  to  con- 
quer and  colonize  Guiana,  and  thus  to  extend  the 
sphere  of  English  industry  and  commerce. 

In  February,  1595,  Raleigh  sailed  from  Plymouth, 
with  five  vessels  and  above  a  hundred  soldiers.  On 
arriving  at  Trinidad,  he  made  prisoner  of  the  governor, 
Berrio,  who  was  himself  preparing  an  expedition  for 
El  Dorado  on  a  magnificent  scale.  From  hence  he 
sailed  to  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  the  navigation  of 
which  was  entirely  unknown  to  the  English,  but 
which  it  was  necessary  to  ascend  in  order  to  reach 
the  grand  object  of  the  voyage.  A  hundred  men 


EL   DOKADO.  69 

embarked  in  boats,  as  the  ships  drew  too  much  water 
to  proceed  up  the  stream.  In  these  they  continued 
to  advance  for  a  month,  exposed  to  the  open  air, 
sometimes  under  a  burning  sun,  sometimes  amid  tor- 
rents of  rain,  with  no  shelter,  and  no  resting-place  but 
the  hard  boards  of  their  boats.  Raleigh's  account  of 
their  progress  through  the  labyrinth  formed  by  the 
numerous  outlets  of  the  great  stream,  of  their  alternate 
hopes  and  fears,  wants  and  fortuitous  supplies,  the 
aspect  of  the  country  and  its  productions,  the  natives 
and  their  chiefs,  and  of  their  entrance  at  last  into  the 
grand  channel  of  the  magnificent  Orinoco, — is  full  of 
interest  and  variety,  and  occasionally  presents  descrip- 
tive passages  of  great  beauty,  joined  also  with  traits 
of  most  extravagant  credulity. 

After  ascending  the  river  about  a  hundred  and 
eighty  miles,  the  rapid  and  terrific  rise  of  its  waters 
compelled  them  to  descend.  Raleigh  firmly  resolved 
soon  to  return,  took  formal  "possession  of  the  country, 
and  made  the  caciques  swear  allegiance  to  Queen 
Elizabeth.  He  returned  to  England  at  the  end  of  the 
summer,  and  published  an  account  of  his  voyage, 
containing,  in  addition  to  ascertained  facts,  many  mar- 
vellous tales  which  he  had  picked  up  among  the 
Indians.  His  determination  to  visit  America  again 
was  inflexible,  yet  it  was  not  till  1613  that  he  sailed 
on  his  new  expedition.  This  was  more  disastrous 
than  the  former,  but  we  have  not  room  to  give  the 
particulars. 

The  belief  in  the  existence  of  El  Dorado  could  not 
be  eradicated  from  the  minds  of  the  inhabitants  in  that 
quarter.  So  late  as  the  year  1780,  a  wild  Indian 


70  EL  DORADO. 

presented  himself  before  the  governor  of  Spanish 
Guiana,  declaring  that  he  came  from  the  borders  of 
Lake  Parima.  He  was  plied  with  questions,  which 
he  answered  with  as  much  perspicuity  and  precision 
as  could  be  expected  of  a  savage  who  spoke  mostly  by 
signs.  He  succeeded  in  making  them  understand 
that  on  the  banks  of  that  lake  was  a  city  whose  inhabi- 
tants were  civilized  and  well  disciplined  in  war.  He 
said  much  of  the  beauty  of  the  buildings,  the  neatness 
of  the  streets,  the  regularity  of  the  squares,  and  the 
riches  of  the  people.  The  roofs  of  the  houses  were 
of  gold  or  silver,  and  the  high  priest  he  said  was 
powdered  with  gold  dust.  The  Indian  sketched  on  a 
table  with  a  bit  of  charcoal  a  plan  of  the  city.  The 
governor  was  fully  convinced  of  the  truth  of  his  rep- 
resentations, and  engaged  him  to  serve  as  a  guide  to 
the  place. 

A  body  of  Spaniards  immediately  set  out  for  the 
discovery.  They  travelled  nearly  five  hundred 
leagues  to  the  south,  by  the  most  difficult  and  often 
frightful  paths.  Hunger,  the  swamps,  the  rocks  and 
the  precipices,  soon  wore  them  out,  and  most  of  them 
died.  When  the  remainder  thought  themselves  within 
four  or  five  days'  journey  of  the  city,  their  guide  dis- 
appeared in  the  night.  This  utterly  dismayed  them. 
They  knew  not  Avhere  they  were,  and  after  wandering 
about  for  some  time,  all  of  them  perished  except  Don 
Antonio  Santos.  The  idea  of  disguising  himself  as 
an  Indian  occurred  to  him.  He  threw  off*  his  clothes, 
stained  his  body  with  roco,  and  introduced  himself 
among  the  savages  by  means  of  the  knowledge  he 
possessed  of  many  of  their  languages.  He  continued 


EL    DORADO.  71 

a  long  time  among  them,  and  at  length  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Portuguese  on  the  Rio  Negro.  After  a 
long  detention,  they  sent  him  home,  and  he  died  in 
Guiana,  in  1796. 

It  is  impossible  not  to  entertain  a  great  curiosity  as 
to  the  true  origin  of  a  story  which  led  to  such  results 
as  we  have  related.  Men  of  intelligence,  judgment, 
and  acuteness,  some  of  whom  have  resided  many 
years  in  that  country,  have  announced  their  serious 
opinion  that  the  story  of  El  Dorado  is  not  destitute  of 
foundation  in  reality.  Unless  we  suppose  the  account 
of  Von  Hutten  to  be  a  complete  fabrication,  which 
does  not  appear  warrantable,  occurring  as  it  does  in 
the  work  of  a  respectable  historian,  we  have  evidence 
at  least  of  the  existence  of  a  warlike  nation,  more 
civilized  than  the  rest  of  the  Indians,  who  had  built 
on  the  borders  of  Lake  Parima  a  large  and  handsome 
city.  The  eminent  traveller  Humboldt  adopts  another 
method  of  solving  the  mystery.  While  engaged  in 
exploring  the  countries  upon  the  upper  Orinoco,  he 
was  naturally  led  to  direct  his  attention  to  the  origin 
of  a  tale  of  such  celebrity,  which  was  still  credited  in 
that  quarter.  "  When  near  the  sources  of  the  Ori- 
noco," he  says,  "  we  heard  of  nothing  but  the  prox- 
imity of  El  Dorado,  the  Lake  Parima,  and  the  ruirts 
of  its  capital .'"  He  attempts  to  account  for  the  tales 
of  El  Dorado  in  a  geological  way.  According  to  his 
conjecture,  there  may  be  islets  and  rocks  of  mica- 
slate  and  talc  within  and  around  the  lake,  which, 
reflecting  from  their  shining  surfaces  the  rays  of  an 
ardent  sun,  appear  to  form  a  gorgeous  city,  whose 
temples  and  houses  seem  to  be  overlaid  with  gold  and 


72  EL   DORADO. 

silver.  He  supposed  that  this  scene  was  thus  formed 
by  the  imagination  into  the  gilded  metropolis. 
Humboldt  attempted  to  penetrate  to  this  spot,  but  was 
hindered  by  the  Guayacas,  a  tribe  of  Indian  dwarfs. 

The  story  of  El  Dorado  remains,  therefore,  still 
involved  in  deep  obscurity.  We  cannot,  however, 
withhold  our  belief  that  it  had  some  foundation  in 
truth.  The  reader,  perhaps,  will  be  surprised  to  learn 
that  the  region  which  is  pointed  out  as  the  locality  of 
this  celebrated  place,  has  never,  to  this  day,  been  tra- 
versed by  a  European.  Its  great  distance  from  the 
sea,  and  the  impassable  wilderness  that  surrounds  it, 
have  repelled  the  arms  of  the  conqueror  from  its 
borders,  while  the  bravery  or  ferocity  of  its  inhabit- 
ants forbids  every  traveller  to  approach  it.  Is  it  im- 
probable that  a  great  city,  or  the  ruins  of  one,  should 
exist  in  this  unknown  territory  ?  A  few  years  ago, 
who  suspected  that  the  plains  and  forests  of  Central 
America  and  Yucatan  contained  those  immense  and 
magnificent  ruins  brought  to  light  by  the  researches 
of  modern  travellers  ?  Cortez,  in  his  march  to  Mex- 
ico, passed  within  ten  miles  of  the  great  city  of  Copan, 
without  hearing  of  it. 

Mr.  Stephens  does  not  hesitate  to  avow  his  opinion 
that  aboriginal  cities  may  yet  be  found,  in  the  unex- 
plored regions  of  South  America,  peopled  by  uncon- 
quered  natives.  The  probability  of  such  facts  is  still 
greater  in  respect  to  a  district  more  remote  from  Eu- 
ropean establishments,  and  which  possesses  positive 
traditions  attesting  their  existence. 


MIRANDA  HURTADO. 

A  TALE  is  interwoven  in  the  history  'of  the  first 
establishment  of  the  Spaniards  on  the  banks  of 
Paraguay,  which  is  so  much  in  the  romantic  and  chi- 
valrous taste  of  the  Spanish  literature  of  that  period, 
that  some  persons  have  questioned  its  authenticity. 
It  is  as  well  attested,  however,  as  any  fact  in  the 
annals  of  the  country,  and  is,  in  itself,  so  interesting 
an  episode,  and  relieves  so  effectually  the  dryness  of 
historical  detail,  by  varying  the  scene  from  public  and 
general  events  to  those  of  a  domestic  and  personal 
nature,  that  it  would  scarcely  be  excusable  to  omit  it 
in  this  volume. 

Sebastian  Cabot,  in  1526,  discovered  the  great  river 
where  the  Spaniards  obtained  the  first  silver  seen  in 
America,  and  which,  on  that  account,  received  the 
name  of  the  Rio  de  la  Plata,  or  "  River  of  Silver." 
He  sailed  up  this  river,  and  on  the  shore  of  the  Par- 
aguay,  one  of  its  main  branches,  he  built  a  fortifica- 
tion, which  he  named  the  fort  of  Espiritu  Santo. 
Here  he  left  a  garrison  of  a  hundred  and  twenty  men, 
under  the  command  of  Nuno  de  Lara,  and  returned 
to  Spain.  Lara,  seeing  himself  surrounded  by  nations 
of  savages,  from  whom  he  could  expect  no  friendship, 
except  in  proportion  as  he  showed  himself  friendly  to 
them,  made  exertions  to  gain  the  good  will  of  one  of 
the  nearest  and  most  powerful  tribes,  the  Timbues. 
vn.— 7 


74  MIRANDA   HUETADO. 

A  friendly  intercourse  was  soon  established  between 
these  Indians  and  the  Spaniards,  which  speedily  led 
to  consequences  which  had  never  entered  into  the 
conception  of  either  party. 

One  of  Lara's  principal  officers,  Sebastian  Hurtado, 

,  was  accompanied  by  his  wife,  Lucia  Miranda,  a  lady 
of  singular  beauty.  Though  the  American  Indians 
in  general  have  shown  themselves  little  susceptible 
of  the  ten  der  passion,  yet  this  has  not  been  uniformly 
the  case.  Mangora,  the  cacique  of  the  Timbues,  in 
the  course  of  his  frequent  visits  to  the  Spaniards,  be- 
came deeply  enamored  of  this  fair  Castilian.  It  was 
not  long  before  she  perceived  it,  and  knowing  how 
much  was  to  be  feared  from  a  savage  chieftain,  with 
whom  it  was  for  the  interest  of  all  to  live  upon  good 
terms,  she  endeavored  by  all  the  means  in  her  power 
to  avoid  being  seen  by  the  cacique,  and  to  guard 
against  any  surprise.  Mangora,  on  his  part,  revolving 
the  means  by  which  he  could  get  her  into  his  power, 
often  pressed  her  husband  to  pay  him  a  visit,  and  to 
bring  his  wife  with  him.  Hurtado  had  been  informed 
by  Miranda  of  the  passion  with  which  the  savage 

'chief  was  smitten,  and  the  apprehensions  she  felt  for 
the  consequences.  AVith  a  policy  suited  to  the  emer- 
gency, he  declined  the  cacique's  invitation,  alleging 
that  a  Spanish  soldier  could  never  leave  his  camp  or 
garrison  without  the  permission  of  his  commander, 
nor  could  with  honor  ask  that  permission  except  to 
fight  the  enemy. 

The  cacique  was  sufficiently  shrewd  not  to  be  de- 
ceived by  this  reply,  and  soon  became  sensible  that, 
for  the  accomplishment  of  his  purpose,  the  removal 


MIRANDA   HURTADO.  75 

of  the  husband  was  a  necessary  step.  Nourishing 
his  passion  with  the  utmost  ardor,  he  was  incessantly 
brooding  over  schemes  for  the  attainment  of  the  object 
of  his  desire.  By  watching  every  movement  of  the 
Spaniards,  he  discovered  at  length  that  Hurtado  had 
been  sent  out  of  the  fort  with  a  company  of  fifty  men, 
to  collect  provisions.  This  seemed  to  offer  a  favora- 
ble opportunity  for  making  an  attempt  to  seize  the 
lady,  as  it  not  only  removed  the  husband,  but  weak- 
ened the  garrison.  He  determined  to  practise  a  strat- 
agem for  the  surprisal  of  the  place.  He  selected  four 
thousand  of  his  best  warriors,  and  posted  them  in  am- 
bush in  a  marsh  not  far  distant.  Himself,  with  thirty 
others,  then  set  out  for  the  fort,  loaded  with  provisions. 
On  arriving  at  the  gates,  he  sent  a  message  to  Lara, 
informing  him  that  he  had  heard  that  the  garrison 
were  in  want  of  supplies,  and  he  had  brought  a  quan- 
tity sufficient  to  last  them  till  the  return  of  the  foraging 
party.  The  commander  received  the  treacherous 
cacique  without  suspicion,  offered  him  every  possible 
mark  of  friendship  and  confidence,  and  insisted  upon 
giving  an  entertainment  to  him  and  his  followers. 

This  was  precisely  what  Mangora  had  expected, 
and  accordingly  he  had  given  his  men  instructions 
how  to  proceed,  and  appointed  signals  for  the  ambush 
in  the  neighboring  marsh.  The  feast  was  spread, 
and  the  entertainment  lasted  till  beyond  midnight; 
when,  just  as  the  Spaniards  were  rising  to  bring  it 
to  a  close,  the  magazines  of  the  fort  were  discov- 
ered to  be  on  fire.  The  signal  had  been  given,  and 
the  Indians  had  rushed  from  their  ambush,  and  en- 
tered the  place.  All  was  now  confusion  and  slaugh- 


76  MIHANDA   HURT  ADO. 

ter:  the  Spaniards,  whether  sleeping  or  waking, 
were  everywhere  put  to  death.  Lara,  however,  re- 
venged himself  upon  the  author  of  this  hloody  treach- 
ery. Having  received  a  severe  wound,  he  sprang 
upon  the  cacique,  and  running  him  through  the  body, 
laid  him  dead  at  his  feet,  but  was  himself  immedi- 
ately overpOAvered  and  slain  by  the  Indians.  Of  all 
the  Spaniards  in  the  fort  none  remained  alive  but 
Miranda,  the  innocent  cause  of  this  terrible  catastro- 
phe, with  four  other  women,  and  as  many  children, 
who  were  all  pinioned  and  carried  off  to  the  residence 
of  the  Indians. 

Siripa,  the  brother  of  Mangora,  succeeded  him  as 
cacique.  He  also  became  deeply  enamored  with 
the  beautiful  Miranda,  and  reserving  her  to  himself, 
he  relinquished  the  other  captives  to  his  attendants. 
He  entreated  her  not  to  think  of  herself  as  a  prisoner, 
and  solicited  her  favor  with  a  gentleness  and  address 
that  love  alone  could  inspire  in  the  breast  of  a  savage. 
He  compared  the  situation  of  her  husband  with  his 
own :  the  one  a  forlorn  fugitive  in  the  forests  of  a 
hostile  country,  the  other  the  chief  of  a  powerful  na- 
tion, and  possessing  unbounded  wealth  and  luxuries. 
But  the  virtue  of  Miranda  was  proof  alike  against 
persuasion,  and  the  fear  of  slavery  and  death.  Siri- 
pa's  offers  were  scornfully  rejected ;  and  her  behavior 
towards  him  was  marked  by  a  degree  of  acrimony, 
intended  to  excite  his  rage,  and  impel  him  to  put  her 
at  once  to  death,  by  which  she  hoped  to  escape  a  more 
fearful  danger.  Her  conduct,  however,  had  a  very 
different  effect,  and  contributed  to  heighten  the  pas- 
sion of  the  savage  lover,  by  increasing  his  esteem  of 


MIRANDA   HURTADO.  77 

her,  and  enhancing  the  value  of  the  expected  con- 
quest by  throwing  new  difficulties  in  his  way.  He 
treated  her  with  moderation  and  gentleness,  and 
showed  her  more  civility  and  respect  than  could  well 
have  heen  expected  of  a  chieftain  little  accustomed  to 
control. 

In  the  mean  time,  Hurtado  with  his  troops  had  re- 
turned to  the  fort,  where  they  found  only  a  heap  of 
smoking  ruins  and  the  dead  bodies  of  their  country- 
men. Ranging  the  neighborhood  to  learn  the  cause 
of  this  fatal  calamity,  he  fell  in  with  some  Indians, 
from  whom  he  learnt  that  the  Timbues  had  been  the 
authors  of  the  deed,  and  that  his  wife  was  a  captive 
among  them.  He  could  not  doubt  of  the  motive 
which  prompted  this  act  of  treachery,  and  was  aware 
of  the  danger  which  threatened  him,  should  he  place 
himself  in  the  power  of  their  perfidious  chief;  but 
his  conjugal  affection  prevailed  over  his  fears,  and  he 
immediately  sought  the  place  where  he  hoped  to  meet 
his  unfortunate  spouse.  On  his  arrival  among  the 
Timbues,  he  was  made  prisoner,  and  Siripa,  indig- 
nant at  his  presumption,  as  well  as  feeling  the  bitter- 
est hatred  toward  the  man  who  alone  possessed  the 
affections  of  Miranda,  and  was,  as  he  conceived,  the 
sole  obstacle  to  his  happiness,  instantly  ordered  him 
to  be  bound  to  a  tree,  and  shot  to  death  with  arrows. 

But  the  power  of  beauty  again  prevailed,  and  the 
eloquent  intercessions  of  Miranda  soothed  the  fierce- 
ness of  the  savage.  The  life  of  Hurtado  was  spared, 
and  he  was  unbound ;  but  nothing  could  induce  the 
cacique  to  release  his  wife.  Tormented  with  various 
passions,  he  seemed  at  times  determined  to  sacrifice 
7* 


78  MIRANDA   HURTADO. 

the  husband  to  his  jealous  rage  ;  but  at  other  periods 
the  desire  of  gaining  the  good  will  of  his  fair  captive 
so  far  overcame  his  enmity,  that  the  husband  and 
wife  were  even  permitted  to  see  each  other.  Their 
interviews  became  gradually  more  frequent  and  un- 
restrained, but  one  fatal  interdiction  marred  their 
happiness.  The  cacique  warned  them  against  any 
indulgence  in  such  caresses  as  might  awaken  his 
dormant  envy.  But  vain  were  the  considerations  of 
prudence,  and  vain  the  resolutions  which  they  had 
formed  to  treat  each  other  with  a  coolness  and  reserve 
that  might  allay  the  jealousy  of  the  savage  inamo- 
rata. Siripa  one  day  surprised  them  in  each  other's 
arms,  and,  in  a  paroxysm  of  ungovernable  rage  at 
their  contempt  of  his  orders,  and  their  presumption 
in  committing  this  outrage  upon  his  feelings,  he  in- 
stantly ordered  them  both  to  execution.  This  sen- 
tence was  carried  into  effect  without  delay.  Hurtado 
died  by  the  punishment  from  which  he  had  before 
escaped  ;  and  Miranda  perished  in  the  flames. 


THE  TYRANT  AGUIRRE. 

THE  legend  of  El  Dorado  is  in  some  measure  con- 
nected with  the  history  of  Lope  de  Aguirre,  a  man 
who  figured  in  the  adventures  referred  to  in  the  prece- 
ding pages,  and  whose  bloody  deeds  obtained  for  him 
the  name  of  El  Tirana,  or  the  Tyrant,  by  which  he 
is  remembered  to  this  day  in  those  countries  which 
formed  the  theatre  of  his  exploits.  He  was  born  at 
Onate,  in  the  province  of  Guipuzcoa,  in  Spain,  and 
was  of  noble  blood  but  of  poor  parents.  In  the  early 
part  of  his  life  he  served  in  the  lowest  employments, 
and  grew  up  with  a  very  bad  reputation.  At  what 
period  he  left  his  native  country  for  the  New  World, 
is  not  known ;  but  even  among  the  infamous  adven- 
turers who,  in  those  days,  swarmed  in  Peru,  he  was 
notorious  for  his  evil  deeds.  In  all  the  revolts  by 
which  that  country  was  disturbed  after  the  conquest, 
he  bore  a  part ;  sometimes  engaged  on  one  side,  and 
sometimes  on  the  other,  and  acquiring  an  ill  fame 
with  all.  Alone,  he  is  said  to  have  lacked  courage ; 
but  to  have  been  brave  even  to  rashness  when  sur- 
rounded by  his  companions.  He  was  short  and  mea- 
gre, lamed  by  a  wound  which  he  had  received  in  the 
king's  service,  and  mean  in  aspect,  with  a  restlessness 
of  eye  which  indicated  a  suspicious  and  perturbed 
spirit. 

This  man  became  the  chief  actor  in  one  of  the 


80  THE    TYRANT   AGUIRRE. 

• 

most  singular  tragedies  in  American  history.  About 
the  year  1560,  a  horde  of  Brazilian  savages,  wander- 
ing first  in  search  of  some  resting-place  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  Portuguese,  and  then  flying  before  the 
enemies  whom  they  provoked  on  their  march,  made 
their  way,  after  ten  years'  travel,  into  the  provinces 
of  Quito.  Here  they  gave  out  that  they  had  passed 
through  the  territory  of  the  Omaguas,  which  they 
found  full  of  large  towns,  the  streets  of  which  .were 
teeming  with  goldsmiths  ;  to  these,  they  added  other 
particulars  of  their  adventures,  highly  exciting  to  the 
avarice  of  the  Spaniards.  This  occasioned  a  great 
sensation  in  Peru.  The  Marquis  de  Cafiete,  their 
viceroy,  was  solicited  to  send  out  an  expedition  for 
the  conquest  of  El  Dorado,  which  it  was  now  sup- 
posed would  surely  be  discovered.  He  was  glad  of 
an  occasion  to  rid  the  country  of  a  troop  of  turbulent 
spirits,  who  were  already  too  numerous,  and  from 
whom  new  rebellions  were  to  be  apprehended.  Nor 
is  it  unlikely  that  the  viceroy  himself  partook  of  the 
general  credulity.  He  therefore  furnished  money  for 
the  expedition  from  the  treasury,  and  some  on  his 
own  account.  Pedro  de  Orsua,  a  knight  of  Navarre, 
and  a  man  of  talent  and  experience,  was  appointed  to 
the  command. 

The  force  raised  consisted  of  three  hundred  Span 
iards,  and  a  hundred  mestizos.  Forty  of  the  Spaniards 
were  men  of  rank;  but  of  the  remainder,  so  many 
had  borne  a  part  in  the  late  rebellions,  that  the  gov- 
ernment, seeing  them  thus  collected,  began  to  fear  the 
consequences  of  its  own  policy.  Orsua's  friends  were 
alarmed  for  his  safety ;  and  one  of  them  wrote  to  him, 


THE    TYRANT   AGUIRHE.  81 

• 

warning  him  against  some  of  his  men,  among  whom 
was  Aguirre.  He  besought  him,  also,  not  to  take 
with  him  a  beautiful  widow,  who  was  his  favorite, 
Dona  Inez  de  Atienza;  as  such  a  proceeding  might 
draw  after  it  the  most  fatal  consequences.  This 
advice  was  given  in  vain.  Orsua,  as  if  impelled  by 
an  evil  genius,  set  out  on  his  expedition,  carrying 
with  him  the  two  individuals  who  speedily  proved 
his  ruin. 

The  sufferings  of  Pizarro's  army  had  warned  Orsua 
against  attempting  to  proceed  by  land ;  he  therefore 
determined  to  build  two  brigantines  and  nine  flat-bot- 
tomed boats,  on  the  head  streams  of  the  Amazon,  and 
sail  down  that  river,  which  he  expected  would  con- 
duct him  to  the  land  he  was  seeking.  While  these 
vessels  were  on  the  stocks,  he  sent  thirty  men  forward, 
with  orders  to  proceed  twenty  leagues  down  to  the 
province  of  the  Caperuzos,  or  hooded  Indians ;  there 
to  collect  what  provisions  they  could,  and  wait  for 
another  detachment ;  then  proceed  in  company  to  the 
river  Cocama,  and  remain  laying  in  stores  till  joined 
by  the  main  body  of  the  corps.  Instead  of  following 
these  instructions,  the  detachment  went  more  than 
two  hundred  leagues  down  the  river,  past  the  mouth 
of  the  Cocama,  and  landed  on  an  island.  By  this 
time,  they  were  in  a  starving  condition,  having  been 
forced  to  feed  on  alligators  by  the  way.  They  now 
fortified  themselves  with  a  palisade ;  and  the  natives, 
after  suffering  severely  in  repeated  aflacks  upon  them, 
sent  a  party  to  them  with  a  present  of  provisions  and  a 
peace-offering.  The  adventurers,  always  suspecting 
treachery,  because  they  were  ever  ready  to  perpetrate 


82  THE   TYRANT   AGUIRRE. 

• 

it  themselves,  decoyed  the  unsuspicious  Indians  into 
a  hut,  fell  upon  them,  and  massacred  more  than 
forty  of  them.  This  cruelty  terrified  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  whole  country ;  all  the  natives,  who 
thought  themselves  within  the  reach  of  the  Spaniards, 
abandoned  their  dwelling-places,  and  the  party  were 
enabled  to  procure  subsistence  for  three  months,  till 
they  were  joined  by  Orsua. 

That  chieftain  had  met  with  disasters  at  his  very 
outset.  Six  of  his  boats  proved  useless,  and  he  was 
compelled  to  leave  behind  the  greater  part  of  his  bag- 
gage, and  most  of  his  live  stock.  Of  three  hundred 
horses,  he  could  embark  only  forty ;  the  rest  were 
abandoned  to  run  wild.  The  whole  expedition  now 
fell  down  the  river.  The  natives  along  the  banks 
generally  abandoned  their  houses  and  fled ;  but  in 
some  places  they  held  intercourse  with  the  Spaniards. 
Orsua  gave  strict  orders  that  no  trade  should  be  car- 
ried on  with  them  except  in  his  presence,  that  he 
might  be  certain  that  no  injustice  was  practised 
toward  the  Indians.  Notwithstanding  this,  some  of 
his  men  plundered  and  robbed  them  without  scruple 
By  this  time,  he  had  begun  to  perceive  what  a  set  of 
desperadoes  he  had  collected  together ;  and  it  was  not 
long  before  symptoms  of  mutiny  were  disclosed.  A 
man  named  Alonzo  de  Montoya  was  detected  in  a  plot 
to  steal  some  of  the  canoes  and  stores,  and  make  his 
way,  with  a  band  of  accomplices,  back  to  Peru.  Orsua 
inflicted  no  heavier  chastisement  upon  him  than  to 
secure  him  for  a  time  with  an  iron  collar.  His  mode 
of  punishing  other  offences  was  to  make  the  offenders 
Dull  at  the  oar  for  a  certain  number  of  days,  a  labor 


THE    TYRANT    AGU1URE.  88 

• 

which  was  probably  at  other  times  performed  by  the 
unfortunate  Indians,  whom  they  carried  along  with 
them. 

The  expedition  proceeded,  according  to  their  own 
computation,  seven  hundred  leagues  down  the  Ama- 
zon ;  sometimes  passing  deserts,  and  at  other  times 
populous  countries  ;  they  also  encountered  every  kind 
of  adventure  with  the  Indians.  No  tidings  were  yet 
heard  of  El  Dorado,  and  the  hopes  of  the  most  ardent 
were  desponding.  Murmurs  arose,  and  the  men 
whispered  to  each  other,  that  it  was  better  to  return  to 
Peru,  lest  they  should  all  perish.  These  discontents 
were  instigated  by  a  party  whose  original  object  in 
joining  the  expedition  was  to  turn  back,  under  some 
leader,  and  attempt  to  seize  the  government  of  Peru, 
that  the  old  days  of  anarchy  and"  the  sword  might  be 
resumed.  Aguirre,  Zalduendo,  Vandera  and  Chaves, 
the  men  against  whom  Orsua  had  been  especially 
warned,  were  among  the  foremost  of  this  party.  Zal- 
duendo and  Vandera  had  both  set  their  eyes  upon 
Orsua's  mistress.  One  of  the  complaints  which  they 
urged  against  him  with  most  effect,  was,  that  he  doted 
upon  this  woman  as  if  she  had  thrown  over  him  a 
species  of  enchantment ;  that  she,  and  not  Orsua, 
commanded  the  army ;  that  the  men  were  condemned 
to  the  par  like  galley-slaves,  only  that  they  might 
row  her  canoe ;  that  the  commander  was  dallying 
with. her,  when  he  ought  to  be  attending  to  the  wel- 
fare of  his  men ;  and  that,  instead  of  lodging  in  the 
midst  of  his  army,  as  his  duty  bade  him,  he  always 
took  up  his  quarters  apart,  that  he  might  not  be  dis- 
turbed in  his  amusements.  A  strong  party  of  con- 


84  THE    TYRANT   AGUIRRE. 

spirators  was  now  formed ;  they  were  all  of  low  birth, 
and  a  leader  was  wanting  respectable  enough  to  give 
some  show  of  authority  to  their  proceedings.  The 
men  of  rank  were  attached  to  the  general,  but  at 
length  they  prevailed  on  Don  Fernando  de  Guzman  to 
come  into  their  plot.  A  secret  council  was  held  ;  arid 
a  proposition  was  made  to  put  Orsua  and  Vargas,  his 
lieutenant,  to  death ;  to  return  to  Peru ;  to  seize  upon 
the  government  and  make  Guzman  its  lord.  He  had 
neither  the  virtue  nor  the  understanding  to  take  alarm 
at  this  desperate  proposal,  but,  drunk  with  ambition, 
he  consented  to  the  measures  which  these,  wretches 
advised.  The  proposed  sentence  of  death  was  passed. 
By  this  time  suspicion  \vas  excited  among  the  gen- 
eral's friends,  though  none  could  foresee  the  extent 
of  the  treason.  They  warned  him  that  there  was 
mischief  impending,  and  besought  him  to  have  a 
trusty  guard  about  his  person.  But,  as  this  would 
have  prevented  him  from  being  alone  with  Dona  Inez, 
he  gave  no  heed  to  the  advice.  "  These  precautions 
are  needless,"  said  he ;  "  there  are  so  many  men  of 
Biscay  and  Navarre  in  the  army,  that  I  have  only  to 
speak  a  word  in  Basque,  and  I  am  safe."  A  more 
emphatic  warning  might  have  roused  him,  had  it  but 
reached  his  ear.  Juan  Gomez  de  Guevara,  an  elderly 
man  of  high  character,  and  one  of  his  best  friends, 
was  at  a  late  hour  enjoying  the  freshness  of  the  night 
air  before  his  lodging,  which  was  next  to  that  of  the 
general,  when  a  figure  passed  him  in  the  shade,  and 
he  presently  heard  a  voice  exclaim,  "  Pedro  de  Orsua, 
governor  of  Omagua  and  El  Dorado,  God  have 
mercy  upon  thee  ! "  Guevara  followed  the  image, 


THE    TYRANT   AGUIERE.  85 

but  it  was  gone.  He  supposed  it  to  be  supernatural, 
and  when  he  communicated  the  warning  to  some  of 
Orsua's  friends,  they,  having  the  same  belief,  agreed 
not  to  mention  it  to  the  general,  because  he  was  at 
that  time  indisposed.  It  was  on  the  night  after  the 
murder  had  been  resolved  upon,  that  the  voice  was 
heard ;  most  probably  one  of  the  conspirators,  con- 
science-smitten, took  this  measure  to  put  the  victim 
on  his  guard. 

The  night  of  New  Year's  day  was  fixed  upon  for 
the  execution,  because,  that  being  a  festival,  it  was 
supposed  less  caution  would  be  observed  than  usual. 
It  would  almost  seem  that  some  good  angel  made  one 
more  effort  to  save  the  infatuated  leader.  A  negro  of 
Vandera's  discovered  the  plot,  and,  at  the  risk  of  his  own 
life,  found  means  to  go  to  Orsua's  lodging  to  tell  him 
of  his  danger.  He  was  alone  with  Dona  Inez  when 
the  negro  arrived.  Even  on  such  an  errand  the  man 
could  not  obtain  admittance ;  he  dared  not  wait,  and 
imparted  his  intelligence  to  a  black  slave  of  the  gen- 
eral. The  latter,  perhaps  being  in  the  conspiracy,  or, 
it  may  be,  hating  his  master,  never  delivered  his  mes- 
sage. When  it  was  night,  the  chief  conspirators  as- 
sembled, and  sent  a  mestizo  in  Guzman's  name  to  beg 
a  little  oil  of  Orsua,  a  pretext  for  discovering  whether 
he  was  alone.  At  a  late  hour,  they  sallied  out,  and 
found  the  chieftain  in  his  hammock,  conversing  with 
a  page.  He  demanded  what  they  wanted  at  such  a 
time ;  they  replied  by  plunging  their  daggers  into  his 
bosom.  Vargas  was  despatched  immediately  after- 
ward, and  the  conspirators  shouted  "  Liberty  !  liberty ! 
long  live  the  king !  the  tyrant  is  slain  !  " 
vu.— 8 


86  THE    TYRANT    AGUIRRE. 

By  threats  and  promises,  all  the  soldiers  were  forced 
into  the  ranks  of  the  mutineers ;  no  man  daring  to 
resist,  because  each  felt  himself  alone,  and  knew 
not  upon  whom  he  could  rely.  Guzman  was  declared 
king,  and  all  allegiance  to  the  king  of  Spain  was 
formally  renounced.  The  new  monarch  immediately 
appointed  his  household ;  he  had  his  chamberlain,  his 
high  steward,  his  carver,  his  pages  and  his  gentlemen, 
to  all  of  whom  he  assigned  salaries  upon  the  treasury 
of  Peru.  He  was  served  at  table  with  the  pageantry 
of  a  real  court,  and  his  orders  were  issued  in  the  name 
of  "  Don  Fernando  de  Guzman,  by  the  grace  of  God 
King  of  Terra  Firma  and  Peru,"  and  heard  hat  in 
hand.  The  plan  of  the  campaign  was  now  arranged. 
They  proposed  to  proceed  to  the  island  of  Margarita, 
where  they  knew  no  resistance  could  be  made,  and 
where  they  could  obtain  a  supply  of  provisions.  From 
hence,  they  were  to  cross  the  isthmus  of  Darien,  seize 
upon  Panama,  and  all  the  ships  in  the  harbor.  They 
expected  to  be  joined  here  by  many  volunteers  from 
Veragua  and  Nicaragua,  and  by  the  negroes  who  were 
then  in  insurrection.  With  a  force  thus  collected,  and 
the  artillery  which  they  expected  to  obtain  at  Panama 
and  Nombre  de  Dios,  they  intended  to  invade  Peru, 
where  there  were  no  troops  capable  of  resisting  such 
a  force.  So  great  was  their  confidence  of  success, 
that  grants  of  land  were  solicited  and  bestowed ;  the 
ruffians  adjusted  everything  beforehand,  that  there 
might  be  no  disputes  after  the  conquest. 

Aguirre  was  the  master  spirit  in  all  these  proceed- 
ings, and  Guzman  was  only  a  feeble  puppet  in  his 
hands.  The  latter  soon  became  sensible  of  this,  and 


THE    TYRANT   AGUIRRE.  87 

fear  overpowered  his  ambition.  He  felt  that  his  only 
safe  course  was  to  discard  his  crown,  return  to  his 
allegiance,  pursue  the  original  object  of  the  expedi- 
tion, and  by  his  services  make  atonement  for  what 
had  been  done.  In  this  opinion  his  friends  concur- 
red, and  in  a  secret  consultation  it  was  resolved  to 
put  Aguirre  to  death.  Unfortunately,  this  was  de- 
ferred till  they  should  all  be  embarked  in  the  brigan- 
tines  which  they  were  constructing  to  transport  them 
to  Margarita.  The  infatuated  usurper  did  not  per- 
ceive that  Aguirre  was  constantly  taking  measures  to 
strengthen  himself,  by  remodelling  the  army,  and 
placing  his  trusty  adherents  in  authority.  Those 
whom  the  crafty  conspirator  desired  to  get  rid  of,  he 
ordered  to  be  strangled.  Zalduendo,  his  ancient  asso- 
ciate in  crime,  was  put  to  death  among  others.  It 
was  told  him  that  on  the  preceding  day,  when  Dona 
Inez  was  weeping  at  the  funeral  of  a  mestiza  child, 
she  had  exclaimed,  "  God  be  merciful  to  thee,  my 
child  !  thou  wilt  have  many  companions  before  many 
days  are  over  !  "  This  was  sufficient  provocation  for 
a  wretch  who  delighted  in  murder,  and  he  immedi- 
ately assembled  his  ruffians.  Zalduendo,  whose 
favorite  Inez  had  now  become,  knew  for  what  purpose 
they  were  collected,  and  hastened  to  Guzman,  to  en- 
treat his  protection ;  but  Aguirre  with  his  assassins 
slew  him  in  the  presence  of  the  king.  He  then  des- 
patched two  desperadoes  to  take  the  life  of  Inez. 
These  executed  their  bloody  commission,  and  seemed 
to  take  delight  in  defacing  the  beautiful  form  which 
nad  been  the  cause  of  so  much  trouble. 

From  this  hour,  the  wretched  Guzman  never  lost 


88  THE    TYRANT    AGUIRRE. 

the  deadly  paleness  which  came  over  him  on  witness- 
ing these  horrible  deeds,  nor  ever  again  smiled  or 
made  a  show  of  cheerfulness,  but  wore  the  counte- 
nance of  one  struck  aghast  with  despair ;  neither  had 
he  sense  or  courage  to  take  any  measures  against  the 
outrageous  tyranny  of  Aguirre,  or  make  one  struggle 
in  his  own  defence.  This  pusillanimity  accelerated 
his  destruction.  Two  of  his  friends  who  had  been  of 
a  secret  council  where  the  death  of  Aguirre  was 
resolved,  believing  that  such  a  secret  could  not  long 
be  kept,  thought  to  escape  the  consequences  of  dis- 
covery by  betraying  it  themselves  to  the  dreaded 
tyrant.  This  intimation  startled  him,  for  till  now  he 
had  despised  Guzman  too  much  to  think  of  him  with 
fear.  His  measures  were  soon  taken  for  the  assassina- 
tion of  the  mock  king.  A  few  days  after,  Aguirre, 
with  a  band  of  adherents,  burst  into  Guzman's  lodg- 
ings early  in  the  morning ;  he  was  in  bed,  but  starting 
up  at  their  coming,  and  seeing  Aguirre,  he  exclaimed, 
"  What  is  all  this,  my  father  ? "  for  by  that  term  he 
was  accustomed  to  call  him  since  the  contract  of  a 
marriage  between  Aguirre's  mestiza  daughter,  who 
accompanied  the  expedition,  and  the  brother  of 
Guzman,  who  had  been  left  in  Peru.  The  wretch 
bade  his  excellency  fear  nothing,  and  passed  on  to 
the  inner  apartment,  where  he  slew  four  of  Guz- 
man's friends ;  meantime  the  others  discharged  their 
arquebuses '  into  the  body  of  their  victim,  thus  con- 
cluding his  miserable  and  disgraceful  mockery  of 
royalty. 

Aguirre  now  became  the  nominal  as  well  as  real 
crr'ef  of  the  band.     They  sailed  down  the  stream, 


THE    TYRANT   AGUIEEE.  S9 

plundering  the  Indians  when  they  did  not  find  them 
too  numerous  and  warlike.  No  considerable  number 
of  days  could  be  passed  by  Aguirre  without  some 
execution.  He  feared  every  man  who  seemed  to  have 
a  friend ;  and  whenever  an  officer  became  popular 
in  the  army,  he  was  speedily  strangled  or  stabbed. 
After  a  long  and  wearisome  voyage  down  the  river, 
they  reached  the  ocean,  and  steered  towards  Marga- 
rita. In  seventeen  days,  they  came  in  sight  of  the 
island,  and  anchored  in  a  port  which  is  still  called 
Traitor's  Harbor,  in  remembrance  of  that  event. 
Scarcely  had  the  vessels  anchored,  when,  upon  some 
pretence,  the  tyrant  ordered  two  more  of  his  men  to 
be  executed.  One  of  them  cried  out  so  loudly  for 
"  confession "  while  they  were  endeavoring  to  pass 
the  cord  round  his  neck,  that  the  executioner,  fearing 
that  h^s  cries  would  be  heard  on  shore  and  excite 
alarm,  stabbed  him  to  the  heart.  Aguirre  landed  in 
the  evening,  and  in  the  morning  sent  one  of  his  men 
to  the  city  of  Margarita,  to  inform  the  inhabitants  that 
tb«y  had  come  down  the  Amazon,  and  were  in  great 
distress  for  want  of  provisions.  The  people,  suspect- 
ing nothing,  exerted  themselves  to  relieve  the  necessi- 
ties of  the  strangers.  Aguirre  landed  a  strong  body 
of  his  musketmen,  and  by  an  artifice  decoyed  the 
governor  into  his  presence  and  made  him  prisoner. 
The  adventurers  then  pushed  forward  to  the  city,  cry- 
ing "Liberty!  liberty!  Lope  de  Aguirre  forever!" 
They  took  possession  of  the  citadel,  then  scoured  the 
streets,  disarming  all  the  inhabitants,  and  committing 
whatever  outrages  they  pleased.  Aguirre  went  into 
the  public  square  and  ordered  his  men  to  cut  down 
8* 


90  THE    TYEANT   AGUIRRE. 

the  gallows :  but  it  was  made  of  lignumvitse,  and  they 
broke  their  axes  upon  it  to  no  purpose.  Next  he  pro- 
ceeded to  the  treasury,  forced  the  doors,  broke  open 
the  royal  chest,  seized  all  the  gold  and  pearls  which 
it  contained,  which  were  of  considerable  amount,  and 
destroyed  the  records. 

His  next  measure  was  to  issue  a  proclamation, 
ordering  every  inhabitant  of  the  island  to  appear 
before  him  with  all  his  arms  of  whatever  kind,  on 
pain  of  death,  and  forbidding  any  one  to  go  out  of  the 
city  without  his  permission,  on  the  same  penalty.  An 
inventory  was  made  of  all  the  goods  in  the  city,  and 
the  owners  were  forbidden  to  touch  any  part  of  them 
as  they  valued  their  lives.  While  Aguirre  was  thus 
intent  on  plunder,  he  was  not  unmindful  of  more 
important  measures ;  he  ordered  all  the  boats  and 
canoes  of  the  island  to  be  broken  up,  that  no  person 
might  carry  intelligence  of  his  designs  to  the  main. 
These  were  but  the  beginning  of  miseries  to  the 
wretched  inhabitants  of  Margarita.  The  greater  the 
excesses  of  Aguirre's  ruffians,  the  more  he  seemed  to 
be  pleased,  and  they  who  were  the  most  savage  were 
his  favorites.  He  used  to  say  that  the  soldiers  who 
told  their  beads  were  not  fit  for  his  service ;  he  wanted 
fellows  who  would  throw  dice  with  the  devil,  and 
stake  their  souls  upon  the  cast.  Upon  their  fidelity 
he  could  have  no  reliance,  and  therefore  he  encour- 
aged them  to  commit  crimes,  which  he  thought  would 
make  them  faithful  to  him  by  cutting  off  all  hopes  of 
pardon. 

After  a  stay  of  forty  days  in  Margarita,  during 
which  every  deed  of  wanton  and  diabolical  cruelty 


THE    TYRANT   AGTJIRRE.  91 

was  committed,  Aguirre  passed  over  to  the  continent. 
He  had  three  banners  made  of  black  silk,  bearing 
bloody  swords  laid  across,  to  signify  the  slaughter  he 
should  make,  and  the  mourning  which  would  follow. 
In  one  of  his  strange  humors,  he  caused  these  banners 
to  be  consecrated  in  the  church,  and  then  delivered 
them  to  his  captains,  charging  them  to  respect  the 
women  and  the  churches,  but  in  other  things  to  follow 
their  own  inclinations.  He  landed  at  Burburata  with 
a  force  now  reduced  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  men. 
The  houses  had  all  been  abandoned,  for  .the  alarm  was 
general  along  the  coast,  and  as  soon  as  his  vessels 
appeared  in  sight,  all  the  inhabitants  fled.  He  burnt 
the  vessels  and  quartered  his  troops  in  the  town,  pro- 
claiming war  with  fire  and  sword  against  the  Spanish 
authorities,  declaring  that  every  person  who  did  not 
voluntarily  join  him  should  be  executed,  and  ordered 
his  men  to  give  no  quarter,  on  pain  of  death  to  them- 
selves. He  then  began  his  march  into  the  interior. 
Everywhere  the  terrified  inhabitants  fled  into  the 
woods,  and  every  step  of  his  progress  was  stained  by 
blood.  It  would  be  tiresome  and  disgusting  to  detail 
the  freaks  of  this  mad  wretch.  At  length,  a  strong 
military  force  was  collected  by  the  Spaniards  to 
check  his  progress.  Aguirre's  followers  deserted  one 
by  one,  and  at  last  he  was  besieged  in  the  town  of 
Baraquicimeto.  All  his  dreams  of  conquest  were 
now  over ;  most  of  his  men  had  deserted,  and  only 
a  handful  of  veteran  miscreants  remained.  They 
killed  their  dogs  and  horses  for  food,  and  after  some 
days,  Aguirre,  finding  himself  in  danger  of  starvation, 
determined  to  make  a  desperate  effort  to  retreat  to  the 


92  THE    TYRANT   AGUIRRE. 

coast.  On  the  morning  of  the  fifth  clay  of  the  siege, 
he  ordered  their  arms  to  he  taken  from  most  of  the 
soldiers,  and  loaded  upon  the  beasts  that  remained, 
and  prepared  to  set  out.  This  last  act  of  suspicion 
completed  his  ruin  :  the  men  asked  if  he  was  leading 
them  to  slaughter,  that  they  were  thus  to  go  forth  un- 
armed. Their  pride  also  was  wounded :  it  was  dis- 
graceful, they  said,  to  turn  back,  as  if  they  wanted 
courage  to  proceed.  These  things  were  said  so  loudly, 
and  discontent  was  so  nearly  ripening  into  open  mu- 
tiny, that  the  falling  tyrant  restored  the  arms  of  the 
men,  craving  pardon  for  what  he  had  done.  There 
were  some  who  sullenly  refused  to  receive  their  wea- 
pons till  Aguirre  condescended  personally  to  entreat 
them. 

The  besiegers,  having  been  informed  by  deserters 
of  the  intended  retreat,  advanced  up  to  the  fort,  and 
called  out  to  the  soldiers,  warning  them  not  to  be 
deceived  any  longer  by  the  traitor,  but  to  come  over  at 
once  to  the  king's  standard,  while  a  free  pardon  was 
yet  to  be  obtained.  A  body  of  fifteen  arquebusiers 
sallied  out  as  if  to  attack  the  besiegers,  but,  watching 
a  favorable  opportunity,  they  went  over  to  them  with 
the  cry  of  "  Long  live  the  king."  The  main  body 
of  Aguirre's  men,  seeing  this,  thought  that  all  hope 
of  resistance  was  over,  and  that  not  a  moment  was  to 
be  lost  in  securing  their  own  pardon.  With  this  in- 
tent they  all  advanced.  The  tyrant  imagined  they 
were  going  to  attack  the  enemy,  but  in  a  few  minutes 
he  saw  them  mingle  in  the  opposite  ranks,  and 
heard  them  shout,  "  Viva  el  Rey." 

The  unhappy  wretch  now  perceived  that  his  career 
of  crime  was  at  an  end.  Not  one  of  his  companions 


THE    TYRANT    AGUIRRE.  93 

in  atrocity  remained  except  Llamoso,  a  miscreant 
who  had  even  exceeded  his  master  in  guilt :  but  he 
was  faithful  to  the  last  to  the  tyrant  whom  he  had 
sworn  to  serve.  Aguirre  asked  him  why  he  also  did 
not  go  and  receive  the  king's  pardon.  He  replied 
that  he  had  been  his  friend  in  life,  and  would  be  so  in 
death.  Aguirre  made  him  no  answer,  but  went  into 
a  chamber  where  his  daughter  was  sitting  in  company 
with  a  young  woman  who  had  come  with  her  from 
Peru.  "  Say  thy  prayers,  child,"  said  he,  "  for  I  must 
kill  thee ! " — "  Why  ? "  she  exclaimed.  He  replied — 
"  That  thou  mayst  never  live  to  be  reviled,  and  called 
the  daughter  of  a  traitor."  Thus  saying,  he  drew  his 
dagger  and  stabbed  her  to  the  heart.  Shortly  after, 
his  enemies  burst  in  upon  him.  Aguirre  begged  for 
his  life,  stating  that  he  had  matters  to  communicate 
which  were  of  importance  to  the  king's  service.  But 
his  own  men  were  desirous  that  he  should  not  live  to 
make  confessions  which  might  show  how  deeply  they 
were  implicated  in  the  atrocities  which  had  been  com- 
mitted, and  he  was  immediately  shot.  At  the  first 
discharge,  he  exclaimed,  "  That 's  badly  done  ;"  at  the 
second,  "  That  will  do,"  and  instantly  expired. 

The  character  of  this  sanguinary  monster  has  hardly 
a  parallel  even  in  the  blood-stained  pages  of  South 
American  history.  Aguirre  is  still  spoken  of  along 
the  Spanish  Main  by  the  name  of  "  The  Tyrant ;"  and 
it  is  the  popular  belief  that  his  spirit,  perturbed  and 
restless  now,  as  when  it  animated  his  body,  still  wan- 
ders over  the  scenes  of  his  guilt,  in  the  form  of  that 
fiery  vapor  which  is  frequently  seen  in  the  island  of 
Margarita  and  the  savannas  of  the  continent,  ever 
fleeing  at  the  approach  of  man. 


A    BUCCANEER. 


THE   BUCCANEERS. 

THE  West  Indies  in  the  sixteenth  century  gave  rise 
to  a  singular  association  of  adventurers,  who,  from  an 
obscure  origin,  gradually  acquired  great  power,  be- 
came famous  for  their  courage,  enterprise  and  crimes, 
and  were  for  a  long  period  the  terror  of  those  regions. 
These  were  the  Buccaneers,  or  Brethren  of  the  Coast, 
called  by  the  French  "  Flibustiers."  They  first  attract 
our  notice  in  the  island  of  St.  Domingo.  After  the 
failure  of  the  mines  in  that  island,  it  was  almost 
utterly  neglected  by  the  Spaniards ;  the  greater  part 
of  its  nourishing  cities  were  abandoned  by  the  inhab- 
itants, and  the  few  who  remained  were  sunk  into  the 
most  enervating  indolence.  A  number  of  French 
wanderers  who  had  been  driven  out  of  St.  Christopher's 
by  the  Spaniards,  took  refuge  here,  and  subsisted  by 
hunting  wild  cattle.  They  met  with  no  interruption 
from  the  Spaniards,  and  their  numbers  were  aug- 
mented by  adventurers  from  all  quarters.  They  derived 
their  name  of  Buccaneers  from  the  Caribs,  who  taught 
the  settlers  in  the  West  Indies  a  curious  method  of 
preserving  meat,  by  smoking  and  drying.  This  meat 
was  called  boucan,  and  constituted  the  principal  food 
of  these  adventurers. 

As  they  had  no  wives  nor  children,  they  generally 
lived  two  and  two  together  for  mutual  assistance ;  and 
when  one  died,  the  survivor  inherited  the  property  of 


96  THE    BUCCANEERS. 

his  companion.  Without  government  or  laws,  they  had 
certain  rules  and  customs  adapted  to  their  situation ;  nor 
do  they  seem  to  have  had  any  great  reason  to  lament 
the  want  of  a  more  perfect  policy.  Differences  seldom 
arose  among  them,  and  were  easily  adjusted.  The  dress 
of  a  Buccaneer  consisted  of  a  shirt  dipped  in  the  blood 
of  an  animal  just  slain  ;  a  pair  of  trowsers ;  a  leather 
girdle,  from  which  hung  a  short  sabre  and  some  Dutch 
knives  ;  a  hat  without  a  rim,  except  a  fragment  before, 
to  pull  it  on  and  off;  and  shoes  of  raw  hide,  without 
stockings.  Each  man  had  a  heavy  musket,  and  com- 
monly a  pack  of  twenty  or  thirty  dogs.  At  daybreak, 
they  usually  set  out  in  pursuit  of  wild  cattle,  and  did 
not  return  till  they  had  killed  one  apiece.  The  hides 
were  sold  to  the  Dutch  and  others,  who  resorted  to  the 
island  for  this  trade,  as  soon  as  the  Buccaneers  began 
to  be  known.  They  possessed  servants  and  slaves, 
consisting  of  those  unfortunate  persons  who  were 
decoyed  to  the  West  Indies,  and  sold,  or  who  indented 
themselves  for  a  certain  number  of  years.  These 
men  were  treated  with  great  rigor.  One  of  them  tell- 
ing his  master  that  God  had  forbidden  the  practice  of 
working  on  Sunday,  by  saying,  "  Six  days  shalt  thou 
labor,  and  on  the  seventh  thou  shalt  rest;"  the  Buc- 
caneer replied,  "  And  I  say  to  thee, '  six  days  shall 
thou  kill  cattle,  and  on  the  seventh  shalt  thou  carry 
their  hides  to  the  shore.'  " 

The  labor  of  each  week  was  the  same,  till  they  had 
furnished  the  stipulated  number  of  hides ;  for  they 
had  regular  contracts  with  the  traders.  They  drank 
nothing  but  water;  and  their  boucan  was  seasoned 
with  pimento  and  orange  juice.  After  a  time,  they 


THE    BUCCANEERS.  97 

began  to  make  inroads  upon  the  Spanish  settlements, 
and  furnish  themselves  with  other  necessaries.  The 
Spaniards,  too  indolent  to  make  effectual  defence,  pro- 
cured soldiers  from  the  neighboring  islands,  who  fell 
upon  the  scattered  parties  of  the  Buccaneers,  and  put 
many  of  them  to  the  sword.  Seeing  themselves  in 
danger  of  being  totally  exterminated,  they  adopted  a 
new  organization  :  and  by  acting  in  concert,  they  laid 
waste  the  Spanish  settlements  with  fire  and  sword. 
The  Spaniards  saw  no  other  means  of  getting  rid  of 
these  ferocious  enemies  than  the  destruction  of  all  the 
wild  cattle  by  a  general  chase.  This  had  the  desired 
effect.  The  Buccaneers  abandoned  St.  Domingo,  and 
took  refuge  in  the  small  island  of  Tortuga. 

They  now  found  themselves  absolute  lords  of  an 
island,  eight  leagues  long  and  two  broad,  mountainous 
and  woody.  The  northern  coast  was  inaccessible ; 
the  southern  had  an  excellent  harbor.  So  advan- 
tageous a  situation  soon  brought  to  the  spot  a  multi- 
tude of  adventurers  and  desperadoes  from  every 
quarter ;  and  the  Buccaneers  from  cattle-hunters  be- 
came pirates.  It  was  at  this  period  that  they  assumed 
the  name  of  the  Brethren  of  the  Coast.  They  made 
their  cruises  in  open  boats,  exposed  to  all  the  inclem- 
encies of  the  weather,  and  captured  their  prizes  by 
boarding.  They  attacked  the  ships  of  every  nation, 
but  the  Spaniards  were  the  grand  object  of  their  hos- 
tilities ;  they  imagined  that  the  cruelties  exercised 
by  them  upon  the  natives  of  America,  offered  a  suffi- 
cient apology  for  any  violence  that  could  be  committed 
upon  that  nation.  Accommodating  their  conscience 
to  these  principles  of  religion  and  equity,  they  never 

G  VII. — 9 


98  THE    BUCCANEERS. 

embarked  upon  an  expedition  without  publicly  offering 
up  prayers  for  success ;  nor  did  they  ever  return 
laden  with  booty  without  solemnly  thanking  God  for 
their  good  fortune. 

In  dividing  their  booty,  they  first  provided  a  com- 
pensation for  such  as  were  maimed  in  the  expedition. 
If  any  one  had  lost  a  right  arm,  he  received  six  hun- 
dred dollars,  or  six  slaves,  and  in  proportion  for  other 
wounds.  After  this,  the  remainder  was  divided 
equally.  The  commander  could  claim  but  one  share, 
although,  when  he  had  acquitted  himself  ably,  they 
complimented  him  with  several  shares.  The  spoil 
being  divided,  the  Buccaneers  abandoned  them- 
selves to  all  kinds  of  rioting  and  licentiousness,  till 
their  wealth  was  expended,  when  they  went  to  sea 
again.  They  seldom  attacked  any  except  the  home- 
ward bound  European  ships,  as  these  always  carried 
gold  and  silver.  They  commonly  pursued  the  Span- 
ish galeons  and  flota  as  far  as  the  Bahama  channel, 
and  if  by  accident  a  ship  separated  from  the  rest,  they 
instantly  attacked  her,  and  she  seldom  escaped.  Such 
a  terror  did  their  very  name  inspire,  that  the  Span- 
iards generally  surrendered  the  moment  they  came  to 
close  quarters. 

The  Buccaneers  rapidly  increased  in  numbers  and 
strength.  They  sailed  in  larger  vessels,  and  carried 
on  their  enterprises  with  still  greater  audacity.  Mi- 
guel de  Basco  captured,  under  the  guns  of  Porto  Belo, 
a  Spanish  galeon  valued  at  a  million  of  dollars. 
Lawrence,  another  Buccaneer,  in  a  small  vessel,  with 
a  few  hands,  was  pursued  and  overtaken  by  two  Span- 
ish ships,  carrying  one  hundred  and  twenty  guns  and 


THE    BUCCANEERS.  99 

seven  hundred  men,  which  he  repelled.  Montbars,  a 
French  gentleman,  was  induced  to  join  the  Buccaneers 
by  an  unconquerable  antipathy  to  the  Spaniards, 
which  he  had  imbibed  in  his  youth  by  reading  the 
history  of  the  cruelties  which  they  had  practised  upon 
the  native  Americans.  This  antipathy  rose  even  to 
frenzy.  His  heated  imagination,  which  he  loved  to 
indulge,  constantly  presented  to  him  innumerable 
multitudes  of  innocent  people  swept  away  by  a  set  of 
ruthless  adventurers  nursed  among  the  mountains  of 
Castile.  These  unhappy  victims  seemed  to  call  upon 
him  for  vengeance  ;  he  longed  to  imbrue  his  hands  in 
Spanish  blood ;  and  no  sooner  had  war  broken  out 
between  France  and  Spain,  toward  the  middle  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  than  he  embarked  for  America, 
where  he  became  one  of  the  most  formidable  of  the 
Buccaneer  commanders.  His  audacious  courage  was 
equalled  only  by  the  pleasure  he  took  in  avenging  the 
slaughter  of  the  Indians  by  shedding  torrents  of  Span- 
ish blood.  Humanity  in  him  became  the  source  of 
the  most  unfeeling  barbarity. 

Two  Buccaneers,  Lolonois  and  Basco,  sailed  for 
the  Spanish  Main,  with  eight  vessels  and  six  hundred 
and  sixty  men.  At  the  entrance  of  the  Lake  of  Mar- 
acaybo,  they  attacked  and  captured  the  castle  which 
defended  the  strait.  Passing  up  the  lake,  they  next 
captured  the  city  of  Maracaybo,  where  they  spent  a 
fortnight  in  rioting  and  debauchery.  The  inhabitants 
had  carried  their  most  precious  effects  to  Gibraltar,  at 
the  further  end  of  the  lake,  which  the  Buccaneers 
might  have  taken,  had  they  proceeded  directly  thither. 
But  by  delaying,  they  gave  the  Spaniards  time  to  erect 


100  THE    BUCCANEERS. 

fortifications,  and  they  defended  these  long  enough  to 
enable  the  inhabitants  to  transport  their  wealth  to 
another  place  for  security.  Exasperated  by  this  dis- 
appointment, the  Buccaneers  set  fire  to  Gibraltar,  and 
Maracaybo  would  have  shared  the  same  fate,  had  it 
not  been  ransomed.  Besides  the  money  which  they 
received  for  sparing  the  city,  they  carried  off  all  the 
crosses,  pictures  and  bells  of  the  churches,  intending, 
as  they  said,  to  build  a  chapel  at  Tortuga,  and  con- 
secrate this  part  of  their  spoil  to  sacred  purposes. 

Henry  Morgan,  an  English  Buccaneer,  sailed  on  an 
expedition  against  Porto  Belo,  in  1668.  He  captured 
the  town  before  the  Spaniards  could  take  any  meas- 
ures for  its  defence.  The  citadel  held  out,  and  the 
chief  citizens  had  retired  into  it  with  their  most  valu- 
able effects,  and  all  the  plate  of  the  churches.  Morgan 
practised  a  stratagem  to  reduce  the  fortress  without 
any  loss.  He  compelled  the  priests,  nuns  and  other 
women  whom  he  had  taken  prisoners,  to  plant  the 
scaling-ladders  against  the  walls,  from  a  persuasion  that 
the  gallantry  and  superstition  of  the  Spaniards  would 
not  suffer  them  to  fire  upon  the  objects  of  their  love 
and  veneration.  But  the  governor  was  a  sturdy  and 
resolute  soldier,  and  ordered  his  men  to  repulse  all 
assailants.  Morgan,  therefore,  found  himself  com- 
pelled to  storm  the  citadel.  The  garrison  made  an 
obstinate  defence,  and  great  numbers  of  them  fell, 
sword  in  hand,  by  the  side  of  their  commander  :  but 
the  place  was  carried.  The  Buccaneers  obtained 
plunder  and  ransom  amounting  to  two  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars,  besides  a  vast  quantity  of  val- 
uable merchandise. 


THE    BUCCANEERS.  101 

The  following  year,  Morgan  made  an  expedition  to 
Maracaybo.  He  found  the  place  deserted,  but  had  the 
good  fortune  to  discover  the  wealth  of  the  citizens, 
which  they  had  secreted  in  the  neighboring  woods. 
He  then  proceeded  to  Gibraltar,  where  for  many 
weeks  he  practised  the  most  cruel  tortures  upon  the 
people  to  extort  a  discovery  of  their  treasures.  These, 
however,  were  unsuccessful ;  and  when  about  to 
depart,  he  found  himself  blockaded  by  three  Spanish 
men-of-war.  These  he  attacked,  burnt  two  of  them 
with  a  fire-ship,  and  defeated  the  other.  The  next 
year  he  undertook  an  expedition  on  a  still  greater 
scale.  With  a  fleet  of  thirty-seven  vessels  and  two 
thousand  men,  he  made  a  descent  upon  the  island  of 
St.  Catharine,  which  was  very  strongly  fortified,  but 
which  was  easily  taken  in  consequence  of  the  cow- 
ardice of  the  governor,  who  concerted  a  pretended 
plan  of  defence  to  save  his  reputation,  but  made  a 
secret  bargain  with  Morgan,  and  allowed  himself  to 
be  vanquished  without  bloodshed.  The  Buccaneers 
destroyed  the  fortifications,  and  took  on  board  an  im- 
mense quantity  of  warlike  stores,  which  they  found  in 
the  island.  They  now  determined  to  attack  Panama, 
on  the  opposite  coast  of  the  isthmus  of  Darien,  and, 
with  this  view,  sailed  toward  the  river  Chagres,  which 
has  its  source  near  the  Pacific. 

On  arriving  at  the  mouth  of  this  river,  they  found  it 
defended  by  a  strong  fort  built  upon  a  steep  rock, 
whose  base  was  washed  by  the  sea.  It  was  garrisoned 
by  a  band  of  brave  soldiers,  under  a  commander  of 
courage  and  abilities.  They  made  a  stout  defence, 
and  the  'Buccaneers  would  have  been  repulsed  but  for 
9* 


102  THE    BUCCANEERS. 

a  very  singular  accident.  Morgan,  despairing  of  sue 
cess,  was  about  to  give  orders  for  a  retreat,  when  an 
arrow  shot  by  an  Indian  lodged  in  the  eye  of  one  of 
his  men.  Exasperated  by  the  anguish  of  his  wound, 
he  drew  out  the  arrow,  wrapped  the  end  of  it  in  cotton, 
put  it  into  his  musket,  and  discharged  it  into  the  fort. 
The  buildings  were  all  of  wood,  with  thatched  roofs ; 
and  the  arrow,  ignited  by  the  discharge,  struck  the 
roof  of  a  house  and  set  it  on  fire.  The  garrison  were 
so  intent  on  defending  their  walls,  that  they  did  not 
perceive  the  flames  till  they  had  made  great  progress. 
A  sudden  panic  then  seized  them,  as  they  saw  the  fire 
approaching  the  powder  magazine.  Terror  and  con- 
fusion prevailed ;  every  man  consulted  his  own  safety, 
with  the  exception  of  fifteen  or  twenty,  who  continued 
fighting  by  the  side  of  their  commander  till  he  fell, 
covered  Avith  wounds.  The  Buccaneers  having  re- 
newed the  attack  with  the  utmost  vigor,  they  were 
compelled  to  surrender. 

Tlje  marauders  pursued  their  voyage  up  the  river 
in  launches,  leaving  a  part  of  their  men  on  board  the 
fleet  which  remained  at  anchor  below.  They  pro- 
ceeded as  far  as  Cruces,  where  they  landed,  and 
marched  for  Panama.  They  defeated  the  Spaniards 
in  several  skirmishes,  and  captured  the  city,  but  found 
it  almost  deserted,  the  inhabitants  having  fled  to  the 
woods.  They  plundered  Panama  at  their  leisure; 
and  their  savage  leader  fell  in  love  with  one  of  his 
female  captives.  As  neither  his  character  nor  person 
were  such  as  to  inspire  her  with  any  favorable  senti- 
ments towards  him,  he  pleaded  his  passion  in  vain. 
He  caused  her  to  be  thrown  into  a  dungeon,  and 


THE    BUCCANEERS.  103 

ordered  that  she  should  be  supplied  with  food  barely 
sufficient  to  sustain  life.  Hoping  to  conquer  her  obsti- 
nacy by  this  cruel  treatment,  he  made  a  long  stay 
ill  Panama,  till  his  men  began  to  murmur  at  being 
kept  inactive  by  such  a  caprice.  He  therefore  was 
compelled  to  depart,  and  agreed  with  the  Spaniards 
for  a  considerable  sum  to  evacuate  the  city  without 
committing  any  further  damage  ;  but  after  the  money 
was  paid,  Panama  was  set  on  fire,  whether  by  acci- 
dent or  design,  is  not  known.  The  Buccaneers 
returned  to  the  mouth  of  the  Chagres  with  an  enor- 
mous booty. 

In  1683,  twelve  hundred  Buccaneers,  in  six  ships, 
ander  the  command  of  Van  Horn,  Grammort,  God- 
frey, Jonque,  and  De  Graff,  attacked  Vera  Cruz. 
Under  cover  of  a  dark  night,  they  landed  at  a  dis- 
tance, reached  the  town  without  being  discovered,  and 
obtained  complete  possession  of  it  by  daybreak.  The 
inhabitants  fled  to  the  churches,  where  the  Buccaneers 
confined  them,  and  placed  barrels  of  gunpowder  at  the 
doors,  with  preparations  to  blow  them  up  at  the  least 
appearance  of  resistance.  They  then  pillaged  the 
city  undisturbed  during  three  days ;  after  which  they 
offered  to  ransom  their  prisoners  for  two  millions  of 
dollars.  These  unfortunate  people,  who  had  neither 
eaten  nor  drank  for  the  whole  period,  gladly  accepted 
the  terms.  Half  the  money  was  paid,  and  the  re- 
mainder expected  from  the  interior,  when  a  fleet  of 
seventeen  ships  appeared  off  the  harbor,  and  a  con- 
siderable body  of  troops  showed  themselves  on  a 
neighboring  eminence,  marching  toward  the  town. 
The  Buccaneers  quietly  retreated  to  their  vessels, 


104  THE    BUCCANEERS. 

carrying  off  fifteen  hundred  slaves  as  an  indemnity 
for  the  half  of  the  ransom  which  they  had  lost,  and 
compelling  the  inhabitants  to  sign  a  bond  for  the  pay- 
ment of  it,  with  interest.  They  boldly  sailed  through 
the  Spanish  fleet,  which  let  them  pass  without  firing  a 
gun. 

The  following  year,  the  Buccaneers  made  their 
appearance  in  the  South  Sea,  where  they  captured  and 
pillaged  fifteen  or  twenty  towns  along  the  coast.  The 
Spaniards  never  ventured  to  defend  themselves  unless 
they  greatly  outnumbered  them,  and  then  they  were 
commonly  routed.  They  were  so  enervated  by  ease 
and  luxury  that  they  had  lost  all  military  spirit  and 
skill,  and  had  almost  forgotten  the  use  of  arms.  They 
were,  if  possible,  more  ignorant  and  cowardly  than 
the  Indians  whom  they  trampled  upon.  This  pusil- 
lanimity was  augmented  by  the  terrors  which  the 
name  of  the  Buccaneers  inspired.  The  monks  had 
represented  them  as  devils,  cannibals,  and  beings  des- 
titute of  the  human  form.  As  the  Spaniards  always 
fled  on  the  approach  of  the  enemy,  they  knew  no 
other  method  of  taking  revenge  than  by  burning  or 
cutting  in  pieces  the  bodies  of  the  Buccaneers  which 
had  been  killed.  These  corpses  they  dug  up,  man- 
gled, and  exposed  to  mimic  tortures ;  an  exhibition 
of  impotent  and  childish  rage  which  only  stimulated 
the  ferocity  of  their  enemies.  The  towns  which  these 
captured  were  set  on  fire,  and  the  prisoners  were 
massacred  without  mercy,  unless  both  were  ransomed 
with  gold,  silver  or  precious  stones.  Silver  was  often 
so  common  as  to  be  despised,  and  they  abandoned 
heaps  of  it  in  every  quarter. 


THE    BUCCANEERS.  105 

These  ravages  almost  totally  annihilated  the  Span- 
ish commerce  in  America.  Hardly  a  ship  ventured 
to  sea,  and  all  communication  between  the  different 
provinces  was  cut  off.  Their  richest  and  most  popu- 
lous territories  were  laid  waste,  and  the  people  hardly 
dared  to  show  themselves  without  the  walls  of  their 
towns.  Cultivation  was  neglected,  to  the  great  distress 
of  the  inhabitants,  and  the  Indians  saw  themselves 
partially  revenged  on  their  tyrants,  whose  sufferings 
were  drawn  on  them  by  that  very  gold  which  had 
stimulated  them  to  bloodshed  and  oppression. 

The  last  remarkable  event  in  the  history  of  the 
Buccaneers,  is  the  capture  of  Carthagena,  in  1697. 
Twelve  hundred  of  them,  under  Pointis,  made  them- 
selves masters  of  this  large,  opulent  and  well-for- 
tified city,  where  they  obtained  a  booty  of  eleven  mil- 
lions of  dollars.  Had  they  been  under  the  direction 
of  an  able  leader,  and  had  their  object  been  conquest 
instead  of  plunder,  they  might  have  subjugated  nearly 
all  the  West  Indies,  and  erected  an  independent  state. 
Morgan  is  said  at  one  time  to  have  entertained  such  a 
design.  The  war  between  Great  Britain  and  France, 
which  followed  the  accession  of  William  III.,  was  a 
severe  blow  to  the  Buccaneers,  who  were  composed 
chiefly  of  the  subjects  of  these  two  powers.  They 
turned  their  arms  against  each  other,  and  never  con- 
federated afterwards.  The  treaty  of  Ryswick,  and 
the  accession  of  a  French  prince  to  the  throne  of 
Spain,  completed  their  dispersion.  Many  of  them 
turned  planters,  or  returned  to  their  original  occupa- 
tion of  sailors  on  board  merchant  ships.  Others,  who 
had  fast-sailing  vessels,  escaped  into  remote  seas,  and 


106  THE    BUCCANEERS. 

practised  piracy  there.  For  nearly  two  centuries,  the 
Buccaneers  had  been  a  people  wholly  distinct  in  his- 
tory ;  they  at  last  disappeared,  and  left  not  a  trace  of 
their  existence  behind. 


MADAME   GODIN. 

A  COMPANY  of  French  astronomers  and  men  ol 
science,  consisting  of  M.  de  la  Condamine,  Godin, 
Bouguer  and  others,  were  despatched  to  South  Amer- 
ica, in  the  year  1735,  by  the  French  government,  to 
measure  a  degree  of  the  meridian  near  the  equator. 
The  researches  and  adventures  of  these  individuals, 
are  among  the  most  remarkable  to  be  found  in  the 
narratives  of  modern  travellers.  Hardly  anything  in 
romance  can  surpass  in  interest  the  recital  of  suffer- 
ing and  peril  exhibited  in  the  history  of  Madame 
Godin,  the  wife  of  one  of  the  members  of  the  expe- 
dition. 

After  a  residence  of  several  years  in  Peru,  M. 
Godin  found  himself  under  the  necessity  of  returning 
home,  in  order  to  regulate  some  of  his  domestic 
affairs.  He  sailed  down  the  river  Amazon,  and 
arrived  at  Cayenne,  in  1750.  His  wife,  being  in  a 
delicate  situation,  was  left  behind ;  and  on  his  attempt- 
ing to  return  to  Peru  by  the  same  route,  such  was  the 
incredible  delay  of  the  Portuguese  government  in 
furnishing  his  passports,  that  fifteen  years  passed 
away  before  he  found  himself  ready  to  set  out. 
Finally,  in  1765,  a  Portuguese  galliot  was  provided 
for  him,  with  instructions  to  the  commander  to  trans- 
port M.  Godin  up  the  Amazon  as  far  as  the  first 
Spanish  settlement.  Unfortunately,  just  at  this  time 


MADAME    GODIN. 


MADAME    GODIN.  109 

he  fell  sick  ;  and  being  unable  to  proceed,  he  sent  in 
stead  a  person  named  Tristan  d'  Orcasaval. 

This  man  proved  unfaithful  to  his  trust.  Instead 
of  making  the  best  of  his  way  up  the  river,  he  passed 
a  long  time  among  the  Portuguese  settlements,  trading 
on  his  own  account,  and  spending  the  money  which 
had  been  lodged  in  his  hands  for  the  purpose  of 
bringing  home  M.  Godin's  wife  and  children.  The 
letters  addressed  to  that  lady,  he  gave  purposely  to  an 
individual  who  took  care  that  they  should  never  come 
to  hand.  By  this  piece  of  dishonesty,  Madame  Godin 
was  for  a  long  time  kept  in  ignorance  of  the  prepara- 
tions that  had  been  made  for  enabling  her  to  join  her 
husband ;  but  at  length,  some  vague  rumors  began  to 
obtain  circulation  through  the  province  of  Quito,  and 
soon  reached  her  ears,  that  letters  were  on  their  way 
to  her,  and  that  a  Portuguese  vessel  had  arrived  in 
the  upper  missions  on  the  Amazon,  to  transport  her  to 
Cayenne.  After  the  most  diligent  search,  the  letters 
could  never  be  found.  Madame  Godin  despatched  a 
negro  with  several  Indians  down  the  river,  to  ascer- 
tain the  fact  respecting  the  Portuguese  vessel.  En- 
countering great  obstacles,  they  were  obliged  to  return; 
but  more  fortunate  on  a  second  trip,  the  negro  reached 
Loreto,  the  most  distant  Spanish  mission,  where 
Tristan  had  arrived.  On  his  return  with  this  intelli- 
gence, Madame  Godin  determined  immediately  to  set 
off  for  that  place. 

Accordingly,  having  made  a  hasty  sale  of  a  portion 

of  her  effects,  she  deposited  the  remainder  in  the  care 

of  her  brother-in-law,  and  left  her  residence  at  Rio- 

bamba,  forty  leagues  south  of  Quito,  on  the  1st  of 

vii.— 10 


110  MADAME    GODIN. 

October,  1769.  Her  companions  consisted  of  her  two 
brothers,  a  nephew  nine  or  ten  years  of  age,  a  French 
physician  designated  as  M.  R.,  a  negro,  thirty  Indians, 
and  three  female  mulattoes.  The  first  point  on  the 
journey  was  the  village  of  Canelos.  An  avant-courier 
which  had  preceded  them  a  month  before,  to  prepare 
everything  necessary  on  the  road,  found  this  place 
well  inhabited,  and  immediately  moved  onward.  In 
the  interval,  however,  between  his  departure  and  the 
arrival  of  the  expedition  at  Canelos,  the  small  pox 
made  its  appearance  here,  and  utterly  depopulated  the 
village.  The  inhabitants  first  attacked  by  the  disease 
immediately  died,  and  the  remainder,  panic-struck, 
instantly  dispersed  among  the  woods.  The  Indians 
who  carried  the  baggage  had  been  paid  in  advance ; 
and,  on  arriving  at  the  deserted  village,  they  took 
fright  and  all  ran  away. 

Madame  Godin,  being  thus  suddenly  deserted  by 
nearly  all  her  attendants,  at  length  discovered  a  couple 
of  Indians  belonging  to  the  neighborhood.  They  had 
no  boat,  but  agreed  to  build  one,  and  carry  the  travel- 
lers down  the  river  Bobonaza  to  the  mission  of  Andoas, 
about  twelve  days'  voyage.  She  paid  them  before- 
hand, and,  the  canoe  being  finished,  they  embarked 
and  left  Canelos.  At  the  end  of  two  days,  the  Indians 
ran  off.  Without  pilot  or  steersman,  they  continued 
their  voyage,  and  passed  the  day  without  accident. 
The  next  day,  at  noon,  they  discovered  a  canoe  in  a 
small  creek  adjoining  a  rude  hut,  in  which  was  a 
sick  Indian,  who  was  prevailed  upon  to  pilot  them. 
On  the  third  day  after  this,  one  of  the  party  acci- 
dentally dropped  his  hat  overboard ;  the  Indian,  stoop- 


MADAME    GODIN.  Ill 

ing  over  the  gunwale  to  pick  it  up,  fell  into  the  river, 
and,  not  having  strength  to  get  hack  or  reach  the 
shore,  was  drowned.  Behold  this  unfortunate  crew 
again  without  a  steersman,  and  totally  unacquainted 
with  the  method  of  managing  a  hoat,  on  a  deep  and 
rapid  stream,  full  of  whirls  and  eddies.  It  was  not 
long  hefore  the  canoe  was  overset ;  hut  they  were  so 
fortunate  as  to  save  themselves.  They  gained  the 
shore,  and  finding  it  too  dangerous  to  pursue  their 
voyage,  they  built  themselves  a  hut. 

They  were  within  five  or  six  days'  journey  of 
Andoas,  but  the  country  was  a  howling  wilderness. 
It  was  impossible  for  all  the  party  to  proceed,  and  M. 
R.  offered  to  push  onward  with  another  Frenchman 
of  the  party,  and  Madame  Godin's  faithful  negro. 
This  was  agreed  to,  and  they  embarked  in  the  canoe, 
M.  R.  taking  especial  care  to  leave  none  of  his  effects 
behind.  This  individual  behaved  in  the  basest  man- 
ner toward  his  unfortunate  companions.  He  assured 
them  that  within  a  fortnight  a  canoe  should  be  re- 
turned to  them,  fully  manned  and  equipped  to  carry 
them  onward ;  but,  more  careful  of  his  own  com- 
fort than  of  their  lives,  no  sooner  had  he  reached 
Andoas,  than  he  departed  with  his  companion  and 
baggage  for  Omaguas,  without  making  any  efforts  to 
rescue  from  destruction  those  whom  he  had  left  bei 
hind.  The  negro,  however,  remained  at  Andoas. 

The  fortnight  elapsed,  and  no  one  appeared  with 
help  for  the  party  in  the  wilderness.  They  waited 
still  longer,  and  at  the  end  of  twenty-five  days  they 
lost  all  hope  of  hearing  from  Andoas.  They  had  no 
alternative  but  to  starve  in  the  woods  or  again  attempt 


112  MADAME'  GODIN. 

lo  sail  down  the  river.  A  raft  was  constructed,  and 
they  embarked  with  their  effects.  As  might  have 
been  expected,  so  unwieldy  a  craft  soon  proved 
dangerous  to  the  navigators.  Ere  long,  it  struck 
against  a  snag,  overset,  and  plunged  the  whole  party 
and  all  their  baggage  into  the  water.  Madame  Godin 
twice  sunk,  but,  by  the  great  exertions  of  her  brothers, 
she  was  saved,  to  endure  new  perils  and  sufferings. 
Owing  to  the  narrowness  of  the  stream  at  this  spot, 
all  the  party  gained  the  shore,  but  everything  else  was 
lost.  Their  situation  was  now  truly  alarming.  With 
neither  boat,  raft,  tool  nor  implement  of  any  sort,  with 
no  clothing  or  means  of  shelter  beside  what  they 
wore  on  their  backs,  and  utterly  destitute  of  provision, 
they  found  themselves  in  a  desert  solitude,  surrounded 
by  an  almost  impervious  thicket  of  trees,  underwood, 
herbage  and  tangled  lianas. 

Bending  their  course  backward,  hoAvever,  and 
breaking  their  way  through  the  thickets,  they  reached 
their  hut,  where,  fortunately,  they  had  left  a  part 
of  their  provisions.  Taking  these,  they  began  their 
journey  down  the  river.  At  first  they  kept  along 
the  banks  of  the  stream,  but  finding  its  sinuosities 
greatly  lengthened  their  journey,  they  struck  off 
into  the  forest,  and  in  a  few  days  utterly  lost  them- 
selves. Their  condition  was  now  truly  appalling. 
Their  provisions  were  exhausted  ;  no  water  was  to  be 
found ;  so  many  days'  journey  through  the  woods 
had  wasted  their  strength ;  their  feet  were  lacerated 
and  torn  with  thorns  and  brambles.  Occasionally  a 
palm  cabbage  or  some  other  wild  fruit  afforded  them 
a  little  relief;  but  at  length  these  failed,  and,  over- 


MADAME    GODIN.  113 

powered  with  hunger,  thirst,  pain  and  weariness,  they 
threw  themselves  on  the  ground,  and  quietly  awaited 
their  end.  One  after  another,  they  expired.  Madame 
Godin's  two  brothers,  her  nephew,  three  young  women 
and  a  young  man,  seven  in  all,  lay  dead,  by  the  side 
of  each  other,  and  this  unfortunate  lady  remained  the 
only  human  being  in  the  midst  of  a  frightful  wilder- 
ness, abounding  in  wild  beasts  and  venomous  reptiles. 
A  situation  more  utterly  hopeless  can  hardly  be  con- 
ceived. How  justly  has  it  been  remarked,  that  "  truth 
is  stranger  than  fiction." 

Stretched  on  the  ground  amid  the  bodies  of  her  com- 
panions, stupefied,  half  delirious,  and  tormented  with 
choking  thirst,  this  heroic  female  determined  not 
to  abandon  herself  to  her  fate  while  a  breath  of  life 
yet  remained.  With  great  difficulty,  she  summoned 
strength  enough  at  the  end  of  two  days  to  rise  and 
drag  herself  forward.  She  had  no  shoes,  and  her 
clothes  were  torn  into  shreds ;  she  cut  the  shoes 
off  the  feet  of  her  dead  brother,  and  made  a  pair  of 
sandals  of  the  soles.  Thus  wretchedly  equipped,  she 
wandered  up  and  down  in  the  dreary  solitude.  The 
spectacle  she  had  witnessed  in  the  melancholy  death 
of  her  friends,  leaving  her  alone  in  the  wilderness ;  the 
appalling  darkness  of  the  night  in  the  desert ;  the  per- 
petual apprehension  of  death,  which  every  hour  served 
to  augment,  had  so  powerful  an  effect  upon  her  spirits 
that  her  hair  turned  suddenly  gray.  On  her  second 
day's  march,  she  found  water,  and  the  following  day 
met  with  some  wild  fruit  and  birds'  eggs.  These,  after 
great  efforts,  she  was  enabled  to  swallow,  for,  owing  to 
her  want  of  aliment,  her  throat  had  become  so  parched 
H  10* 


114  MADAME    GODIN. 

and  stiffened  as  to  be  hardly  able  to  perform  its  office. 
This  food  sufficed  to  support  her  emaciated  frame, 
.and  she  continued  her  course  through  the  pathless 
woods.  On  the  eighth  or  ninth  day  after  she  left  the 
spot  where  her  companions  lay,  she  reached  the  banks 
of  the  Bobonasa.  At  daybreak,  she  was  startled  by  a 
noise  very  near  her,  and  in  the  momentary  terror  at 
the  thought  of  a  wild  beast,  she  fled  into  the  woods  ; 
Out,  after  a  short  reflection,  satisfied  that  nothing 
worse  could  befall  her  than  to  remain  in  her  present 
forlorn  condition,  she  proceeded  to  the  shore  of  the 
stream,  and  discovered  two  Indians  launching  a  canoe. 
Her  deliverance  was  now  at  hand.  The  Indians 
advanced  toward  her,  and  she  learnt  that  they  belonged 
to  Canelos,  but  had  abandoned  that  place  on  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  small  pox,  and  had  taken  up  their 
residence  with  their  families  in  a  hut  in  the  woods. 
They  received  Madame  Godin  with  a  humanity  and 
kindness  truly  affecting.  Thus  this  heroic  woman, 
at  a  moment  when  she  least  expected  it,  suddenly 
found  herself  snatched  from  the  horrible  death  which 
had  so  long  impended  over  her.  Ten  days  had  she 
been  alone,  in  the  woods,  two  awaiting  death  by  the 
corpses  of  her  companions,  and  eight  more  wandering 
up  and  down  she  knew  not  whither ! 
:  For  the  final  preservation  of  her  life,  she  was  en- 
tirely indebted  to  this  casual  discovery  of  the  two 
Indians.  Her  faithful  negro  had  made  every  exertion 
at  Andoas,  and  raised  a  company  to  go  to  her  relief. 
This  party  reached  the  hut  where  the  expedition  had 
been  left,  but  found  no  one  there.  They  traced 
Madame  Godin  and  her  companions  through  the 


MADAME    GODIN.  115 

woods  till  they  came  to  the  spot  where  they  found 
the  seven  bodies,  so  disfigured  that  no  one  of  them 
could  he  identified.  At  this  spectacle,  they  con- 
cluded that  none  of  the  party  had  survived,  and, 
returning  to  the  hut,  where  many  valuable  articles 
had  been  abandoned  by  the  unfortunate  sufferers,  they 
took  these  and  departed  for  Andoas,  where  they  ar- 
rived before  anything  had  been  heard  of  Madame 
Godin.  The  negro  thence  repaired  to  M.  R.  at  Oma- 
guas,  and  delivered  to  him  the  property  of  his  mis- 
tress. 

The  two  Indians  conducted  Madame  Godin  safely 
to  Andoas.  She  rewarded  them  for  their  fidelity  with 
the  only  valuable  articles  which  still  remained  in  her  '* 
possession,  consisting  of  two  massy  gold  chains.  The 
simple  natives  could  not  have  been  more  delighted 
and  astonished  had  all  paradise  been  opened  to  them. 
Alas  for  the  poor  Indians  ! — a  Spaniard,  who  had  just 
come  into  office,  and  officiated  as  a  sort  of  lay  mis- 
sionary at  Andoas,  had  the  inconceivable  baseness  to 
rob  them  of  these  presents  before  the  very  face  of 
Madame  Godin,  giving  them  in  exchange  three  or 
four  yards  of  coarse  cotton  cloth.  Fired  with  indig- 
nation at  this  infamous  conduct,  she  instantly  de- 
manded a  canoe  and  men,  and  set  out  for  Laguna.  An 
Indian  woman  at  Andoas  made  her  a  cotton  skirt,  for 
which  she  sent  her  a  recompense  after  her  arrival  at 
Laguna.  On  reaching  that  place,  she  was  kindly 
received  by  Dr.  Romero,  the  chief  of  the  mission,  and 
during  six  weeks'  stay  there,  her  health  and  strength 
were  partially  restored.  M.  R.  was  still  at  Ornaguas, 
and  an  express  was  despatched  to  that  place,  to  inform 


116  MADAME    GODIN. 

him  of  her  arrival.  Upon-  this  intelligence,  he  found 
himself  compelled  to  restore  to  Madame  Godin  a  por- 
tion of  the  property  in  his  hands.  He  accordingly 
hastened  to  join  her,  bringing  with  him  five  silver 
dishes,  and  some  trifling  articles  of  clothing  belonging 
to  herself  and  others.  He  denied  having  possession 
of  the  other  valuables,  consisting  of  jewels  of  gold 
and  precious  stones.  0  Madame  Godin  addressed  him 
in  the  language  of  great  indignation,  charging  him 
with  robbing  her  of  her  property,  and  with  having 
been  the  cause  of  all  her  misfortunes.  She  avowed 
her  determination  to  have  no  further  association  with 
him.  Yet,  at  the  intercession  of  Dr.  Romero,  who 
represented  that  if  she  abandoned  him  there  he  would 
be  without  the  means  of  returning  to  his  country,  she 
had  the  magnanimity  to  overlook  his  base  conduct, 
and  allow  him  to  continue  with  her. 

The  remainder  of  Madame  Godin's  voyage  down 
the  Amazon,  was  comparatively  safe  and  easy.  After 
twenty  years'  separation,  she  had  the  happiness  of 
again  joining  her  husband,  in  the  year  1770.  The 
courage,  fortitude  and  perseverance  of  this  remark- 
able woman  during  her  strange  vicissitudes  and  suf- 
ferings in  the  American  wilds,  are,  perhaps,  without  a 
parallel  in  the  annals  of  adventure. 


ALEXANDER    SELKIRK. 

THE  island  of  Juan  Fernandez,  near  the  coast  of 
Chili,  has  obtained  an  extraordinary  reputation  from 
the  adventures  of  this  individual ;  and  the  interest 
which  every  reader  must  feel  for  the  spot  is  of  so 
romantic  a  cast,  that  we  shall  sketch  a  short  narrative 
of  the  circumstances  which  have  gained  it  such  no- 
toriety, and  given  rise  to  one  of  the  most  ingenious 
and  agreeable  fictions  in  our  language. 

Alexander  Selcraig,  or  Selkirk,  as  he  called  him- 
self after  he  went  to  sea,  was  born  at  Largo,  in  the 
county  of  Fife,  in  Scotland,  in  1676.  He  received  a 
common  school  education,  and  was  then  put  to  his 
father's  business  of  shoemaking.  He  was  the  seventh 
son  of  his  parents,  and  soon  became  a  spoiled  child. 
His  waywardness  of  temper  gave  them  much  unea- 
siness. A  strong  desire  to  go  to  sea  rendered  his 
employment  irksome  to  him,  and  an  occurrence  at  lasi 
afforded  him  an  opportunity  to  indulge  his  predilec- 
tion. His  irregularities  rose  to  such  a  pitch  that  he 
fell  under  the  formal  censure  of  the  church,  and  was 
cited  to  appear  before  the  session.  He  was  at  this 
time  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  too  stubborn  to  sub- 
mit to  a  rebuke  for  his  behavior ;  accordingly  he  left 
home,  and  nothing  was  heard  of  him  for  six  years. 
There  are  good  reasons  for  believing  that  he  was  with 
the  Buccaneers  in  the  South  Seas  during  this  period. 


ALEXANDER   SELKIRK. 


ALEXANDER    SELKIRK. 

Li  1701,  we  find  him  again  at  Largo,  but  with  the 
same  irascible  and  intractable  temper,  and  involved  in 
constant  broils  with  his  family.  As  his  fondness  for 
a  maritime  life  was  unabated,  he  did  not  remain  long 
in  Scotland,  but  proceeded  to  London  in  search  of 
new  adventures. 

At  the  metropolis  he  fell  in  with  Captain  Dampier, 
who  was  then  fitting  out  an  expedition  against  the 
Spaniards  in  the  South  Sea.  Selkirk  shipped  with 
him  as  sailing-master  of  the  Cinque  Ports  galley,  a 
consort  of  Dampier's  ship,  the  St.  George,  and  sailed 
from  London  in  the  spring  of  1703.  After  various 
adventures,  both  vessels  arrived  at  the  island  of  Juan 
Fernandez,  in  February,  1704.  Having  remained 
here  some  time  to  refit,  they  continued  their  cruise, 
and  made  numerous  captures.  The  two  vessels  sep- 
arated, and  after  this  a  violent  quarrel  broke  out 
between  Selkirk  and  Stradling,  the  commander  of  the 
Cinque  Ports.  So  bitter  was  this  animosity,  that  Sel- 
kirk resolved  to  leave  the  vessel,  whatever  might  be 
the  consequence.  In  a  short  time,  the  want  of  pro- 
visions and  the  crazy  state  of  the  vessel  compelled 
Stradling  to  put  back  to  the  island.  Here  he  remained 
for  some  time,  repairing  and  provisioning  his  vessel. 
When  about  to  sail,  Selkirk  announced  his  determi- 
nation to  remain  in  the  island,  and  was  accordingly 
set  on  shore  with  all  his  effects.  He  leaped  upon 
the  land  with  a  joyful  feeling  of  liberty,  shook  hands 
with  his  comrades,  and  bade  them  a  hearty  adieu. 
But  this  joyous  feeling  was  soon  chilled.  Scarcely 
had  the  sound  of  their  oars  as  they  pulled  away  from 
the  land,  fallen  upon  his  ears,  when  his  heart  sunk 


IZU  ALEXANDER    SELKIRK. 

within  him,  and  the  horrors  of  solitude  and  the  loss 
of  all  human  society,  perhaps  forever,  rushed  into  his 
mind.  His  resolution  instantly  abandoned  him,  and 
he  called  to  his  comrades  to  be  taken  on  board ;  but 
Stradling  was  deaf  to  his  entreaties,  and  took  a  plea- 
sure in  mocking  his  despair.  The  ship  was  soon  out 
of  sight,  and  Selkirk  found  himself  the  only  human 
being  in  that  lonely  isle.  This  was  near  the  end  of 
September,  1704. 

Juan  Fernandez  is  about  a  dozen  leagues  in  circuit. 
A  great  part  of  the  island  is  mountainous  and  covered 
with  wood,  chiefly  pimento,  cotton  and  cabbage  trees. 
The  climate  is  delightful ;  wild  goats  run  at  large  in 
the  woods,  and  the  shores  are  frequented  by  vast 
mtmbers  of  seals  and  sea-lions.  It  is  a  charming 
region,  and  might  seem  an  agreeable  residence,  but 
the  solitude  in  which  Selkirk  was  placed,  made  it 
as  dreary  to  him  as  a  de'sert.  For  many  days  after 
the  departure  of  the  ship,  his  dejection  of  mind  was 
so  extreme,  that  he  sat  immovably  fixed  upon  the 
shore,  gazing  at  the  spot  where  her  sails  had  sunk 
beneath  the  horizon,  vainly  hoping  to  see  her  return 
and  relieve  him  from  his  misery.  He  took  no  food 
until  compelled  by  the  sharpest  hunger,  nor  indulged 
in  sleep  until  overpowered  by  watchfulness.  The 
season  was  now  the  beginning  of  spring  in  that  hem- 
isphere, and  all  nature  was  verdant,  blooming  and 
fragrant ;  but  his  forlorn  condition  caused  the  beauties 
of  the  scenery  and  the  balminess  of  the  air  to  be  dis- 
regarded. What  greatly  added  to  the  horror  of  his 
loneliness,  was  the  dismal  wail  of  the  sea-lions  at 
night;  to  this  was  added  the  frequent  crashing  of 


ALEXANDER    SELKIRK.  121 

falling  trees  and  rocks  among  the  heights,  which 
often  broke  the  drear  stillness  of  midnight  with  strange 
and  appalling  sounds  that  echoed  from  valley  to  valley. 
In  an  excess  of  terror  and  despair,  he  often  meditated 
suicide ;  but,  after  several  months,  his  melancholy 
began  to  wear  away,  and  he  cast  about  to  see  by  what 
means  he  could  improve  his  condition. 

He  had  brought  with  him  on  shore,  his  clothes  and 
bedding,  a  musket,  some  powder  and  shot,  tobacco,  a 
hatchet,  a  knife,  a  pewter  pot,  a  flip-can,  some  mathe- 
matical instruments  and  books,  and  a  Bible.  The 
building  of  a  hut  was  his  first  undertaking ;  this  he 
constructed  of  pimento  wood,  and  thatched  the  roof 
with  long  grass.  At  some  distance  he  erected  a  smaller 
building  for  his  kitchen.  Both  were  lined  with  goat- 
skins. He  shot  these  animals  as  long  as  his  powder 
lasted,  which  was  but  a  pound  ;  afterwards  he  caught 
them  by  running  them  down.  At  first,  he  could  over- 
take only  the  kids,  but  afterwards,  so  much  did  his 
frugal  habits,  joined  to  air  and  exercise,  improve  his 
strength,  that  he  could  overtake  the  swiftest  goat  on 
the  island  in  a  few  minutes,  toss  it  over  his  shoulder, 
and  carry  it  with  ease  to  his  hut.  This  agility  on 
one  occasion  nearly  cost  him  his  life.  While  pursu- 
ing a  goat,  he  made  a  snatch  at  it  on  the  brink  of  a 
precipice,  which  he  did  not  perceive,  as  it  was  hidden 
by  bushes,  and  both  fell  from  a  great  height.  He  was 
so  stunned  and  bruised  by  the  fall,  that  he  lay  sense- 
less for  some  hours,  and  when  he  came  to  himself,  he 
found  the  goat  lying  dead  beneath  him.  This  hap- 
pened about  a  mile  from  his  hut,  and  he  lay  twenty- 
four  hours  before  he  was  able  to  move.  After 

VII.— 11 


122  ALEXANDER    SELKIRK. 

crawling  home  with  extreme  difficulty,  he  remained 
ten  days  stretched  upon  his  bed  in  great  pain.  This, 
however,  was  the  only  accident  of  the  kind  that  hap- 
pened to  him  during  his  residence  in  the  island. 

After  his  powder  was  exhausted,  he  obtained  fire 
by  the  Indian  method  of  rubbing  two  pieces  of  wood 
together.  The  cabbage-palm  offered  him  a  tolerable 
substitute  for  bread ;  vegetables  of  various  kinds  grew 
spontaneously,  and  a  bed  of  turnips  had  been  sowed 
on  the  island  by  Dampier's  men ;  his  meat  he,  sea- 
soned with  pimento.  Thus  having  food  in  abundance, 
and  finding  the  climate  healthy  and  pleasant,  in  about 
a  year  and  a  half  he  became  reconciled  to  his  situa- 
tion. The  time  no  longer  hung  heavy  on  his  hands ; 
his  constant  devotion,  and  the  study  of  the  Bible, 
soothed  his  feelings,  and  elevated  his  thoughts ;  undis- 
turbed health,  a  temperate  regimen,  and  the  perpetual 
serenity  of  the  sky,  filled  his  mind  with  cheerfulness. 
He  took  delight  in  everything  which  lay  around  him, 
ornamented  his  hut  with  fragrant  branches,  and  formed 
a  verdant  and  delightful  bower  in  which  he  tasted  the 
sweets  of  repose  after  the  toil  of  the  chase.  Hunting 
was  his  chief  amusement ;  and  he  caught  many  more 
goats  than  he  required  for  food ;  it  was  his  custom, 
after  running  them  down,  to  mark  their  ears  and  let 
them  escape.  The  kids  he  carried  to  the  green  lawn 
in  front  of  his  hut,  and  employed  his  leisure  in  taming 
them.  They  in  time  supplied  him  with  milk,  and 
even  with  something  like  social  amusement,  for  he 
taught  them  to  dance,  and  he  often  declared  after- 
wards that  he  never  danced  with  a  lighter  heart  than 


ALEXANDER    SELKIRK.  123 

he  did  to  the  sound  of  his  own  voice  with  his  dumb 
companions.  . 

At  first,  he  suffered  much  annoyance  from  rats, 
which  gnawed  his  feet  during  sleep ;  for  a  remedy, 
he  caught  some  of  the  cats  which  ran  wild  in  the 
woods,  and  tamed  them.  These  put  the  rats  to  flight, 
and  became  his  companions.  He  taught  them  to 
dance  like  his  goats,  and  divert  him  by  a  variety  of  odd 
capers.  The  cats  multiplied  to  such  an  extent,  that 
he  soon  had  a  house  full  of  them,  and  he  was  at  times 
saddened  by  the  thought  of  being  eaten  up  by  them 
after  death. 

His  clothing  soon  wore,  out,  and  he  made  new 
dresses  of  goat-skins,  in  which  he  looked  more  wild 
than  his  brute  companions.  He  always  went  bare- 
foot, and  neither  shaved  nor  sheared  his  locks.  After 
his  knife  was  worn  out,  he  chanced  one  day,  in  strol- 
ling along  the  beach,  to  find  several  iron  hoops  which 
had  been  left  behind  by  some  vessel.  This  was  a 
discovery  of  more  value  to  him  than  a  mine  of  gold 
or  diamonds  would  have  been,  and  afforded  him  ma- 
terials for  making  tools  as  long  as  he  staid  on  the 
island.  One  of  them,  which  he  had  used  as  a  chop- 
per, was  afterwards  carried  to  London,  and  for  many 
years  was  exhibited  as  a  curiosity  at  the  Golden  Head 
Coffee-house  near  Burlington  Gate.  He  occasionally 
amused  himself  by  carving  his  name  upon  the  trees, 
with  the  date  of  his  arrival  in  the  island.  Several 
times,  during  his  stay,  he  saw  vessels  pass  near.  Two 
of  them  came  to  anchor.  Selkirk  always  concealed 
himself  on  the  approach  of  a  vessel ;  but  on  one  occa- 
sion, being  anxious  to  know  whether  the  ship  was 


124  ALEXANDER    SELKIRK. 

French  or  Spanish,  he  approached  too  near,  and  was 
discovered.  A  pursuit  commenced,  and  several  shot 
were  fired  at  him.  None  of  them  took  effect,  and  he 
hid  himself  by  climbing  up  into  a  tree.  His  pursuers 
stopped  under  the  tree  and  killed  several  goats  near 
it,  but  not  discerning  Selkirk,  they  returned  to  the  ship 
and  sailed  away.  Had  they  been  French,  he  would 
have  given  himself  up,  but  as  he  saw  that  they  were 
Spaniards,  he  chose  to  remain  on  the  island  and  die 
alone,  rather  than  run  the  risk  of  being  shot,  or  linger 
out  a  life  of  misery  in  the  mines  of  Peru  or  Mexico, 
which  he  supposed  might  be  his  fate  if  he  should  fall 
into  their  hands.  It  was  a  strict  maxim  of  their 
policy  never  to  allow  an  Englishman  to  return  to 
Europe,  who  had  gained  any  knowledge  of  the  South 
Seas. 

Selkirk  had  lived  alone  in  the  island  upwards  of 
four  years,  when,  on  the  last  day  of  January,  1709,  he 
discovered  two  ships  approaching ;  and  as  they  drew 
near,  he  ascertained  that  they  were  English.  Great 
was  the  tumult  of  emotions  that  now  stirred  his  breast ; 
but  the  love  of  society  and  of  home  overpowered  every 
other  desire.  It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  when  the 
ships  came  first  in  sight,  and  for  fear  they  might  sail 
by,  without  knowing  there  was  a  man  on  the  island, 
he  made  a  large  fire  to  burn  during  the  night.  His 
hopes  and  fears  banishing  all  thoughts  of  sleep,  he 
employed  the  night  in  killing  goats,  and  preparing  an 
entertainment  for  his  visitors.  The  ships  were  the 
Duke  and  Dutchess,  two  large  cruisers,  under  the 
command  of  Woodes  Rogers,  with  Dampier  for 
pilot.  The  sight  of  the  fire  on  shore  caused  great 


ALEXANDER    SELKIRK.  125 

alarm,  and  they  conjectured  that  some  hostile  ships 
of  war  lay  at  anchor  under  the  island.  The  ships 
were  cleared  for  action,  and  during  the  forenoon  of 
the  following  day,  they  kept  a  sharp  lookout  for  the 
enemy.  No  vessel  appearing,  about  noon  a  boat  was 
sent  on  shore.  Selkirk  ran  down  to  the  beach,  and 
astonished  the  crew  by  the  wildness  of  his  appear- 
ance, which  literally  struck  them  dumb.  He  had  at 
this  time  his  last  shirt  upon  his  back ;  his  feet  and 
legs  were  bare,  and  the  rest  of  his  body  was  covered 
with  rough  and  shaggy  goat-skins ;  his  beard  was  of 
above  four  years'  growth.  His  long  disuse  of  conver- 
sation had  affected  his  power  of  speech,  and  he  uttered 
his  words  by  halves. 

Selkirk  was  received  on  board,  and  engaged  as 
mate  of  Rogers'  ship,  the  Duke  ;  he  served  in  that 
capacity  during  the  remainder  of  the  expedition,  and 
much  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  commander.  After  a 
long  cruise,  he  arrived  in  England,  in  October,  1711, 
with  eight  hundred  pounds  of  prize  money,  having 
been  absent  more  than  eight  years.  He  no  sooner 
had  made  his  appearance  in  London,  than  his  strange 
adventures  attracted  great  attention,  and  he  became 
an  object  of  lively  curiosity.  Most  of  his  visitors 
who  have  left  any  account  of  him,  describe  him  as  an 
unsociable  person,  of  eccentric  habits,  and  far  from 
communicative.  As  he  spoke  in  a  broad  Scotch 
dialect,  it  was  with  difficulty  that  he  could  be  under- 
stood. Among  his  visitors  was  Sir  Richard  Steele, 
who  collected  from  him  such  particulars  as  he  could 
recollect  of  his  life  in  the  island,  which  he  afterwards 
11* 


126  ALEXANDER    SELKIRK. 

published,  with  reflections  of  his  own,  in  the  twenty- 
sixth  number  of  the  Englishman. 

The  reader  may  wish  to  know  the  sequel  of  Sel- 
kirk's history.  He  returned  to  his  native  town,  where 
his  parents  received  him  with  joy;  but  his  recluse 
habits  induced  him  to  shun  society,  and  he  constructed 
a  cave  in  the  garden,  where  he  lived  in  solitude. 
He  purchased  a  boat,  amused  himself  with  fishing, 
and  took  lonely  walks  among  the  roads  and  glens  in 
the  neighborhood.  In  these  rambles,  he  often  met  a 
young  girl,  Sophia  Bruce,  seated  alone,  and  tending  a 
single  cow,  the  property  of  her  parents.  Her  lonely 
occupation  and  innocent  looks  made  a  deep  impres- 
sion upon  him,  and  he  watched  her  for  hours  unseen, 
as  she  gathered  wild  flowers  or  chanted  her  rural 
lays.  At  length,  he  joined  her  in  conversation ;  their 
attachment  became  mutual,  and  they  eloped  to  Lon- 
don. It  is  supposed  that  she  died  a  few  years  after- 
wards, or  that  Selkirk  deserted  her,  as  he  returned  to 
Scotland  alone,  and  became  involved  in  broils  which 
brought  him  under  the  discipline  of  the  church.  This 
drove  him  once  more  to  England,  and  he  entered  the 
navy.  He  died  some  time  in  1723.  In  a  house  at 
Craigie  Well,  strangers  are  yet  gratified  with  the  sight 
of  the  room  in  which  he  slept ;  they  are  also  shown 
his  sea-chest,  and  a  cocoa-nut  shell  cup  that  belonged 
to  him.  But  the  most  interesting  relic,  by  far,  is  the 
flip-can  which  he  had  in  the  island,  and  which  is  now 
in  the  possession  of  his  great  grand  nephew,  John 
Selcraig. 

Such  is  the  story  of  the  man  whose  adventures 
gave  birth  to  the  romance  of  Robinson  Crusoe.  Few 


ALEXANDER    SELKIRK.  127 

persons  have  obtained  so  high,  yet  unsought  renown. 
Selkirk  never  aimed  at  notoriety,  yet  immortality  has 
been  conferred  upon  him  by  one  who  knew  him  not. 
The  story  of  Selkirk  was  first  communicated  to  the 
world  by  Woodes  Rogers,  in  the  narrative  of  his 
voyage;  after  which  the  tale  appeared  in  various 
shapes  by  other  hands.  Defoe  adopted  it  for  the 
groundwork  of  his  romance  of  Robinson  Crusoe ;  but 
there  appears  to  be  no  evidence  that  Selkirk  wrote  a 
narrative  himself,  from  which  Defoe  purloined  his 
materials,  as  has  been  often  suggested.  The  leading 
idea  only  was  borrowed  from  Selkirk's  adventures ; 
but  the  whole  arrangement  and  execution,  all  the 
filling  up  of  incident,  reflection  and  character  in 
Robinson  Crusoe,  were  truly  and  entirely  created 
by  the  genius  of  Defoe. 


THE  JESUITS  IN  PARAGUAY. 


THE  establishment  of  the  Jesuits  in  Paraguay, 
affords  the  most  remarkable  instance  on  record  of  full 
success  in  converting  to  Christianity  and  partial  civil- 
ization the  natives  of  the  New  World.  The  missiona- 
ries of  this  order  went  to  South  America,  after  the  coun- 
try had  been  devastated  by  the  Spanish  conquerors, 
who  hunted  the  Indians  like  wild  beasts.  The  Jesuits 
believed  that  these  unfortunate  natives  were  capable, 


THE    JESUITS    IN    PARAGUAY.  129 

by  a  milder  course  of  treatment,  of  being  redeemed 
from  their  degraded  condition.  They  obtained  from 
the  court  of  Spain,  about  the  beginning  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  a  declaration  that  all  their  Indian 
proselytes  should  be  considered  free  men,  and  that 
the  Jesuits  should  have  the  government  of  the  com- 
munities of  converts  which  they  should  form  in  the 
interior  of  the  country.  This  privilege  became  the 
foundation  of  the  most  flourishing  missionary  estab- 
lishment which  the  New  World  has  ever  seen. 

The  Jesuits  immediately  entered  upon  the  scene 
of  action,  and  opened  their  campaign  with  the  spiritual 
conquest  of  the  Guaranies,  a  nation  inhabiting  the 
banks  of  the  Uruguay  and  the  Parana.  Twelve 
thousand  of  these  people  were  removed  to  Paraguay, 
in  order  to  save  them  from  the  incursions  of  the  Portu- 
guese, who,  regardless  of  the  progress  of  Christianity 
among  the  natives,  carried  off  the  new  converts  to 
serve  as  slaves  in  the  mines  of  Brazil.  The  same 
number  of  inhabitants  were  procured  from  other  dis- 
tricts, and  the  colonial  plan  went  immediately  into 
successful  operation.  Large  towns  and  villages  were 
formed,  and  the  establishment  was  rapidly  augmented 
by  the  acquisition  of  new  tribes  from  every  quarter. 
Within  little  more  than  a  century,  they  possessed 
thirty-eight  towns  in  a  high  state  of  improvement; 
and  fifty  years  afterward,  the  Jesuits  are  supposed  to 
have  had  no  less  than  three  hundred  thousand  Indian 
families  under  their  spiritual  government. 

The  nature  of  that  government,  and  the  means  by 
which  such  a  multitude  of  wandering  savages  were 
collected,  and  brought  to  submit  to  civil  regulations 
i 


130  THE    JESUITS    IN   PARAGUAY. 

and  religious  observances,  require  an  attentive  exam- 
ination. With  no  arms  but  those  of  persuasion,  the 
Jesuits  freely  mingled  with  the  most  barbarous  tribes , 
they  learned  their  languages,  and  by  all  these  arts  of 
address  and  insinuation  for  which  they  have  long 
been  famous,  they  gained  the  confidence  of  these 
wild  hordes.  They  engaged  to  protect  them  from  the 
aggressions  of  the  Spaniards  and  Portuguese,  as  well 
as  to  secure  them  against  those  inconveniences  to 
which  they  were  exposed  in  their  forests,  provided 
they  would  agree  to  live  in  society  and  contribute  to 
supply  each  other's  wants,  according  to  the  instruc- 
tions which  should  be  given  them.  As  soon  as  they 
had  drawn  together  a  certain  number  of  families,  they 
provided  for  their  comfort  and  instruction,  taking  care 
to  render  them  tractable,  reasonable  and  contented, 
before  they  began  to  unfold  to  them  the  mysteries  of 
the  gospel.  They  did  not  attempt  to  make  them 
Christians  before  they  had  made  them  men.  This 
seems  to  have  been  the  true  secret  of  their  success. 
The  Indians,  having  realized  the  promises  of  the 
Jesuits  in  regard  to  the  comforts  of  this  world,  doubted 
not  what  was  told  them  of  the  next.  At  first  they 
respected,  but  now  they  revered  their  teachers,  and 
those  shrewd  propagandists  did  not  fail  to  take  the  most 
certain  steps  for  perpetuating  the  influence  which  they 
had  acquired.  They  reserved  to  themselves  all  civil 
and  religious  authority;  and  by  having  the  absolute 
disposal  of  everything  which  belonged  to  the  commu- 
nity, all  property  was  nearly  the  same  as  their  own. 

The  Indians  entertained  a  firm  conviction  that  what- 
ever the  Jesuit  fathers  recommended  was  good,  and 


THE    JESUITS    IN    PARAGUAY.  \ 

whatever  they  condemned  was  bad.  With  such 
impressions  in  the  subjects,  the  administration  of 
government  was  an  easy  thing.  Over  each  of  the 
missions,  or  districts,  a  Jesuit  presided  in  chief.  He 
was  supreme  in  all  cases,  civil,  military  and  eccle- 
siastical ;  and  governed  not  only  with  the  sway  of  a 
sovereign,  but  with  the  reputation  of  an  oracle.  The 
inferior  magistrates  in  the  towns  were  chosen  by  the 
Indians  from  among  their  own  body,  subject  to  a  con- 
firmation by  the  presiding  Jesuit. 

The  Indian  towns  were  all  very  neat,  and  well 
built.  The  churches  were  large,  and  admirably  con- 
structed ;  their  decorations  were  scarcely  inferior  to 
the  richest  in  Peru.  The  dwelling-houses  of  the 
Indians  were  built  with  symmetry  and  taste,  and  were 
so  commodiously  and  elegantly  furnished,  as  to  excel 
those  of  the  Spaniards  in  many  populous  cities  of 
South  America.  Every  church  had  its  band  of  music, 
consisting  of  a  great  number"  of  vocal  and  instrumental 
performers,  and  divine  service  was  celebrated  with  all 
the  pomp  and  solemnity  of  the  European  cathedrals. 
At  public  processions  and  religious  festivals,  the  In- 
dian magistrates  paraded  with  great  ceremony,  and 
there  was  an  imposing  display  of  gold-laced  uniforms 
and  rich  dresses,  with  skilful  dancing.  No  town  was 
without  a  school  for  instruction  in  reading,  writing, 
dancing  and  music.  Many  of  the  Indians  became  pro- 
ficients in  Latin.  In  every  considerable  place  were 
shops  for  painters,  sculptors,  gilders,  silversmiths, 
locksmiths,  carpenters,  weavers,  watch-makers,  and 
other  artisans.  Every  one  worked  for  the  benefit  of 
the  whole  town,  and  the  "  co-operative  system," 


132  THE    JESUITS   IN   PARAGUAY. 

which  has  often  been  attempted,  but  has  as  often 
failed  in  modern  times,  was  here  carried  into  full 
success. 

Every  town  had  an  armory,  in  which  were  kept 
the  muskets,  swords  and  pikes  used  by  the  militia 
when  they  took  the  field,  either  to  repel  the  insults  of 
the  Portuguese,  or  the  heathen  nations  of  the  fron- 
tiers. The  militia  comprised  all  the  men  capable  of 
bearing  arms ;  and  they  were  exercised  on  the  even- 
ing of  every  holiday  in  the  public  squares.  They 
manufactured  their  own  gunpowder.  All  private 
distress  was  prevented  by  a  charitable  fund  derived 
from  the  produce  of  a  farm  in  each  village,  on  which 
the  inhabitants  labored  two  days  in  every  week.  The 
surplus  of  this  fund  went  to  purchase  ornaments  for 
the  churches,  and  to  pay  the  royal  revenues.  That 
the  Indians  might  never  be  in  want  of  necessary  arti- 
cles, it  was  one  part  of  the  priest's  duty  to  have  always 
on  hand  a  stock  of  different  kinds  of  tools,  clothing 
and  miscellanies,  which  were  sold  to  the  Indians  for 
their  agricultural  or  manufactured  produce.  This 
barter  was  managed  with  the  strictest  integrity,  that 
the  Indians  might  have  no  reason  to  complain  of 
oppression,  and  that  the  high  character  of  the  priests 
for  justice  and  sanctity  might  be  studiously  preserved. 
By  this  means  the  Indians  had  no  occasion  to  leave 
their  own  country  for  the  purposes  of  trade,  and  were 
kept  from  the  contagion  of  those  vices  which  they 
would  have  contracted  in  such  an  intercourse  with 
the  people  of  other  districts,  where  the  morals  of  the 
inhabitants  were  not  restrained  by  good  examples  and 
laws. 


THE   JESUITS   IN   PARAGUAY.  133 

The  missionary  fathers  would  not  allow  any  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Peru,  whether  Spaniards,  mestizoes,  or 
even  Indians,  to  come  within  the  limits  of  their  estab- 
lishment in  Paraguay :  not  with  a  view  of  concealing 
their  transactions  from  the  world,  but  in  order  that 
their  converts,  being  newly  reclaimed  from  savage- 
ness  and  brutality,  and  initiated  into  morality  and 
religion,  might  be  kept  steadfast  in  this  state  of  inno- 
cence and  simplicity.  They  adhered  inflexibly  to 
this  system,  and  in  this  they  were  justified  by 
the  melancholy  example  of  the  missions  of  Peru, 
which  were  ruined  by  an  open  intercourse  with  the 
people  around  them.  Acting  upon  their  original 
views,  they  formed  an  Utopia  of  their  own,  the  first 
object  of  which  was  to  remove  from  their  people  all 
temptations  which  are  not  inherent  in  human  nature, 
and  by  establishing,  as  nearly  as  possible,  a  com- 
munity of  goods,  to  exclude  a  large  portion  of  the 
crimes  and  miseries  which  embitter  the  life  of  civil- 
ized man.  For  this,  they  might  plead  the  authority 
of  sages  and  legislators. 

Under  this  system,  an  Indian  never  knew,  during 
his  whole  progress  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  what 
it  was  to  take  thought  for  the  morrow :  all  his  duties 
were  comprised  in  obedience.  The  strictest  disci- 
pline soon  becomes  easy  when  it  is  certain  and  im- 
mutable :  that  of  the  Jesuits  extended  to  everything, 
but  it  was  neither  capricious  nor  oppressive.  The 
children  were  considered  as  belonging  to  the  com- 
munity :  they  lived  with  their  parents,  that  the  course 
of  natural  affection  might  not  be  interrupted;  but 
their  education  was  a  public  duty.  The  Jesuits  boast 
vii.— 12 


134  THE    JESUITS    IN    PARAGUAY. 

that  years  would  sometimes  pass  away  without  the 
commission  of  a  deadly  sin,  and  that  it  was  even  rare 
to  hear  a  confession  which  made  absolution  necessary. 
Few  vices,  indeed,  could  exist  in  such  communities. 
Avarice  and  ambition  were  excluded ;  there  was  little 
room  for  envy,  and  little  to  excite  hatred  and  malice. 
Drunkenness,  the  vice  which  most  easily  besets  sav- 
age and  half-civilized  man,  was  effectually  prevented 
by  the  prohibition  of  intoxicating  liquors ;  and  licen- 
tiousness was  guarded  against  by  the  strictest  rules 
of  behavior. 

Money  was  scarcely  known  in  Paraguay ;  all  pay- 
ments were  made  in  kind ;  everything  had  a  fixed 
rate  of  barter,  and  he  who  wanted  to  purchase  an 
article,  gave  another  in  payment  for  it.  They  ex- 
ported cotton  and  tobacco,  rosaries  and  little  saints, 
articles  which  were  in  great  demand  in  those  quar- 
ters. Their  staple  export,  however,  was  the  mate, 
or  Paraguay  tea,  which  grows  on  a  shrub  resembling 
the  orange  tree,  but  much  larger.  The  twigs  of  this 
tree  are  gathered  and  laid  before  a  slow  fire,  when 
the  leaves  crackle  like  those  of  the  laurel ;  after  being 
toasted,  the  leaf  and  stalk  are  pulverized.  The  Gua- 
ranies  prepared  it  more  delicately  by  carefully  picking 
off  the  leaves  and  bruising  them  slightly  in  a  mortar. 
The  use  of  this  tea  by  the  Spaniards  of  South  Ame- 
rica is  almost  universal,  and  great  virtues  are  ascribed 
to  it.  Hunger  and  thirst  are  relieved  by  it.  The 
Indians  who  have  been  laboring  all  day,  feel  imme- 
diately refreshed  by  a  cup  of  this  tea,  made  by  simply 
mixing  the  leaf  with  rain  water.  In  Chili  and  Peru, 
the  people  be.-:eve  that  they  could  not  exist  without 


THE    JESUITS   IN    PARAGUAY.  135 

it,  and  many  persons  take  it  every  hour  in  the  day, 
intoxicating  themselves  with  it  as  the  Turks  do  with 
opium.  The  Spaniards  learnt  the  use  of  it  from  the 
natives. 

Never  was  there  a  more  absolute  despotism  than 
the  government  of  the  Jesuits  in  Paraguay ;  but  never 
has  there  existed  any  other  society  in  which  the 
welfare  of  the  subjects,  temporal  and  eternal,  has 
been  the  sole  object  of  the  government.  The  rulers, 
indeed,  erred  grossly  in  the  sta'ndard  of  both,  but 
erroneous  as  they  were,  the  sanctity  of  the  end  pro- 
posed, and  the  heroism  and  perseverance  with  which 
it  was  pursued,  deserve  the  highest  admiration.  The 
Jesuits  were  accused,  among  other  things,  of  living 
in  all  the  luxury  of  princes  in  their  empire  of  Para- 
guay ;  but  this  charge  is  groundless,  and  they  appear 
to  have  been  guided  mainly  by  a  sense  of  duty  towards 
God  and  man.  The  life  of  a  missionary,  after  he 
began  his  labors  in  seeking  out  the  wild  Indians,  was 
spent  in  the  most  arduous  toils,  the  severest  privations, 
and  the  greatest  dangers ;  these  being  often  termi- 
riated  by  untimely  death. 

Incredible  were  the  exertions  which  the  first  mis- 
sionaries made — the  difficulties  which  they  encoun- 
tered, and  the  risln-  they  ran,  in  seeking  out  and 
reclaiming  the  wild,  tribes.  The  itinerant  set  forth 
with  his  breviary,  and  a  cross,  six  feet  high,  which 
served  him  for  a  staff.  About  thirty  converted  Indians 
attended  him  as  guides,  interpreters  and  servants,  or 
fellow-laborers ;  they  were  armed,  but  not  with  fire- 
locks, and  carried  axes  and  bills  to  open  a  way  through 
the  woods,  a  stock  of  maize  for  their  supply  in  case 


136  THE    JESUITS   IN   PARAGUAY. 

of  need,  and  materials  for  striking  fire.  Hammocks 
might  easily  have  been  added,  but  the  missionaries 
seldom  indulged  themselves  with  anything  that  could 
possibly  be  dispensed  with.  The  danger  from  wild 
beasts  is  not  great  in  Paraguay  and  the  adjoining 
provinces,  but  there  are  few  parts  of  the  world  where 
the  traveller  has  so  many  plagues  to  molest  him. 
The  first  business  upon  halting  for  the  night,  or  even 
for  a  meal  in  the  daytime,  is  to  beat  the  ground  and 
trample  the  grass  for  a  safe  distance  round,  in  order 
to  drive  away  the  serpents,  which  are  very  numerous, 
and  are  attracted  by  fire.  The  torment  from  insects 
is  also  insufferable.  Where  there  is  fine  grass,  where 
there  are  thickets  or  marshes  on  the  borders  of  lakes 
or  rivers,  or  where  there  are  thick  woods,  if  you  are 
to  pass  the  night  you  must  not  dream  of  sleeping. 
The  open  country  swarms  with  that  wingless  tribe,  so 
famous  for  their  agility ;  and  he  who  lies  down  on 
what  he  supposes  to  be  clean  turf,  where  there  is  no 
vestige  of  man  or  beast,  will  rise  up  black  with  these 
vermin.  Breeze-flies  and  wasps  torment  the  horses 
and  mules ;  but  the  common  fly  is  the  most  dreadful 
annoyer  both  to  man  and  beast  in  this  country,  and 
is  considered  equal  to  all  the  other  insects  and  all  the 
venomous  reptiles  in  this  part  of  the  world.  It  gets 
into  the  ears  and  noses  of  those  who  are  asleep,  de- 
posits its  eggs,  and  unless  timely  relief  be  applied,  the 
maggots  eat  their  way  into  the  head,  and  cause  the 
most  excruciating  pain,  and  even  death.  In  addition 
to  these  evils,  the  missionaries  were  compelled  to 
endure  the  extremes  of  fatigue  and  hunger  when 
making  their  way  through  swamps  and  woodlands ; 


THE    JESUITS    IN    PARAGUAY.  137 

and  when,  having  persevered  through  all  these  obsta- 
cles, they  found  the  savages  of  whom  they  were  in 
quest,  they  and  their  companions  sometimes  fell  vic- 
tims to  the  ferocity  or.  the  suspicion  of  the  very  persons 
for  whose  benefit  they  had  endured  so  much. 

Among  the  South  American  Indians,  were  tribes 
of  cannibals,  who  considered  human  flesh  as  the  most 
exquisite  of  all  dainties.  A  Jesuit  one  day  found  a 
Brazilian  woman  in  extreme  old  age,  and  almost  at 
the  point  of  death.  Having  catechized  her,  instructed 
her,  as  he  conceived,  in  the  nature  of  Christianity,  and 
completely  taken  care  of  her  soul,  he  began  to  inquire 
whether  there  was  any  kind  of  food  which  she  could 
take.  "  Grandam,"  said  he,  that  being  the  word  of 
courtesy  by  which  it  was  usual  to  address  old  women, 
"  if  I  were  to  get  you  a  little  sugar  now,  or  a  mouth- 
ful of  some  of  our  nice  things  which  we  get  from 
beyond  sea,  do  you  think  you  could  eat  it  ?  "  "  Ah, 
my  grandson,"  she  replied,  "  my  stomach  goes  against 
anything.  There  is  but  one  thing  which  I  think  I 
could  touch.  If  I  had  the  little  hand  of  a  tender  little 
Tapuya  boy,  I  think  I  could  pick  the  little  bones. 
But  woe  is  me  !  there  is  nobody  to  go  out  and  shoot 
one  for  me  !  " 

One  of  the  most  eminent  of  the  Jesuit  missionaries 
was  Cypriano  Baraza,  who  may  be  considered  the 
most  enlightened  member  of  that  order  that  ever 
labored  in  Spanish  America.  The  scene  of  his  labors 
comprised  a  tract  of  a  hundred  and  twenty  square 
leagues,  in  the  wildest  part  of  the  country.  He  plunged 
into  the  wilderness,  with  a  few  Indian  guides,  and 
spent  many  years  learning  the  language  of  the  sav- 
12* 


138  THE    JESUITS   IN    PARAGUAY. 

ages  and  conciliating  their  good  will.  They  assured 
him  that  toward  the  east  there  was  a  nation  of  women 
who  killed  all  their  male  infants  and  bred  up  the  girls 
m  warlike  habits.  Baraza  was  a  man  whose  veracity 
might  be  relied  on,  and  it  is  worthy  of  notice  that  in 
this  same  direction  other  travellers  have  heard  of  the 
Amazons.  Baraza  collected  about  two  thousand  of 
these  wild  people ;  other  missionaries  were  then  sent 
to  his  assistance,  and  leaving  them  in  charge  of  his 
converts,  he  advanced  further  into  the  country.  He 
had  now  acquired  a  sufficient  command  of  their  lan- 
guages, had  accustomed  himself  to  their  manners  in 
all  lawful  things,  and  gained  at  once  their  good  will 
and  respect  by  kind  offices,  unwearied  benignity, 
and  superior  knowledge.  He  dressed  the  wounds  of 
the  Indians,  he  administered  medicine  to  the  sick ;  he 
taught  them  weaving,  carpentry  and  agriculture,  and 
procured  cattle  for  them  from  the  Spanish  settlements. 
Having  heard  that  there  was  a  pass  across  the  moun- 
tains which  would  materially  shorten  the  road  to 
Peru,  from  which  this  distant  mission  was  supplied, 
he  employed  three  years  in  exploring  it,  and  at  length 
gained  the  summit  of  the  Andes,  and  saw  before  him 
the  low  country  toward  the  Pacific  Ocean.  He  fell 
upon  the  ground  and  returned  thanks  to  God  for  the 
successful  termination  of  his  search. 

But  Baraza  was  now  near  the  close  of  his  merito- 
rious career.  He  proceeded  to  the  Baures,  a  people 
east  of  the  Moxos,  and  the  most  improved  of  all  these 
numerous  tribes.  Their  villages  were  built  on  hills 
with  some  regularity ;  each  was  a  fortification,  so 
palisadoed  as  to  be  secure  against  any  sudden  attack, 


THE   JESUITS   IN   PARAGUAY.  139 

and  havi  .ig  loop-holes  for  their  own  archers ;  as  a  fur- 
ther precaution,  pitfalls  were  concealed  in  the  paths. 
Their  shields  were  made  of  platted  cane  covered 
with  cotton  and  feathers,  and  arrow-proof.  The 
chief  of  one  of  these  tribes  was  supposed  to  be  the 
Great  Moxo,  whom  the  early  conquerors  of  Peru 
believed  to  have  succeeded  to  the  Inca's  treasures,  and 
to  have  founded  a  richer  empire  in  the  centre  of  the 
continent  than  that  which  Pizarro  overthrew.  The 
more  improved  customs  of  these  people  were  in 
reality  the  wrecks  of  Peruvian  civilization. 

In  many  of  these  towns,  Baraza  was  well  received, 
and  listened  to  with  apparent  complacency.  But 
being  lodged  in  a  place  which  he  had  not  visited 
before,  his  companions  were  alarmed  during  the  night 
by  a  loud  sound  of  drums ;  and  as  they  knew  the 
manners  of  the  people,  they  were  instantly  aware 
that  their  destruction  was  intended.  Without  a  mo- 
ment's delay,  they  urged  Baraza  to  fly.  He  had 
scarcely  attempted  to  leave  the  place,  before  the  sav- 
ages rushed  out.  A  shower  of  arrows  was  poured 
upon  him,  which  in  a  moment  checked  his  flight,  and 
he  was  then  murdered  with  a  hatchet.  Thus  he  died, 
in  the  sixty-fifth  year  of  his  age,  after  having  labored 
upwards  of  twenty-seven  years  in  civilizing  and  in- 
structing the  Indians.  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that 
the  Jesuits  seem  ne'ver  to  have  adorned  his  history 
with  miracles,  as  if  they  felt  that  no  fables  were  re- 
quired to  exalt  his  character,  or  exaggerate  ihe  success 
of  his  labors. 

The  Jesuit  missions  continued  to  flourish  till  the 
middle  of  the  last  century.  But  in  1750,  Spain,  by  a 


140  THE    JESUITS    IN   PARAGUAY. 

treaty  with  Portugal,  thought  proper  to  give  up  seven 
districts  in  Paraguay,  to  the  latter  power,  in  exchange 
for  other  territory  in  South  America.  The  Spanish 
government  ordered  the  Jesuits  and  their  Indian 
pupils  to  abandon  their  homes,  and  remove  to  some 
other  part  of  the  Spanish  territory.  The  fathers  in 
vain  remonstrated  against  the  injustice  and  cruelty  of 
expelling  men  from  the  fields  which  they  had  by  their 
own  industry  reclaimed  from  the  wilderness ;  the 
harsh  mandate  was  repeated,  and  the  Jesuits  were 
forced  to  obey.  But  the  natives  refused  to  submit, 
and  resisted  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  forces  which 
were  sent  against  them.  A  subsequent  change  in 
the  diplomatic  relations  of  the  two  countries,  left  the 
Indians  in  possession  of  their  territory ;  yet  the  Jesuits 
were  falsely  accused  of  having  encouraged  what  was 
styled  a  rebellion.  The  Spanish  government,  after 
mature  investigation,  acquitted  them ;  but  the  Portu- 
guese minister,  Pombal,  a  harsh  and  unprincipled 
man,  believed,  or  affected  to  believe,  in  the  rebellious 
spirit  of  the  fathers,  whom  he  wished  to  expel  from 
Portugal.  An  attempt  by  some  noblemen  to  murder 
the  king,  was  charged  upon  the  Jesuits,  because 
Father  Malagrida,  one  of  the  society,  was  confessor  to 
some  of  the  guilty  accessories.  No  proof  could  be 
obtained  against  him,  but  he  was  condemned  by  the 
Inquisition,  on  a  charge  of  heresy,  and  executed.  In 
September,  1759,  orders  were  given  for  the  expulsion 
of  the  Jesuits  from  the  Portuguese  territories,  and  the 
confiscation  of  their  property.  The  order  was  exe- 
cuted with  the  greatest  severity;  \he  fathers  were 


THE   JESUITS   IN   PARAGUAY.  141 

.shipped  off  with  indecent  haste  like  so  many  cattle,  in 
vessels  bound  for  Italy,  where  they  were  landed  in  a 
state  of  utter  destitution.  Such  was  the  end  of  the 
most  promising  missionary  enterprise  ever  under- 
taken among  the  savages  of  the  western  continent. 


BOLIVAR. 


BOLIVAR. 

THE  Spanish  colonies  of  South  America  remained 
for  three  centuries  in  quiet  submission  to  the  mothnr 
country,  if  we  except  the  desperate  attempt  of  the 
Peruvian  Indians,  under  Tupac  Amaru,  to  throw  off 
the  yoke  of  their  oppressors.  Never  were  despotism, 
avarice  and  slavish  obsequiousness  to  power,  more 
thoroughly  displayed  than  in  Spanish  America,  under 
the  government  of  the  viceroys  and  captains-general, 
who,  with  all  the  principal  officers  of  the  viceroyal 
court,  were  sent  to  America  from  Madrid,  and  who, 
without  being  under  any  efficient  responsibility,  admin- 
istered their  authority  with  every  species  of  tyranny 
and  venality.  Justice  was  bought  and  sold,  and  the 
most  important  legal  decisions  were  made  in  favor  of 
the  highest  bidder.  The  mercantile  policy  of  the 
parent  country  was  equally  despotic  and  rapacious. 
The  establishment  of  manufactures  was  not  permitted, 
while  cargoes  of  Spanish  commodities,  the  refuse  of 
the  shops,  were  forced,  in  barter  for  silver  and  gold, 
upon  a  half  civilized  people,  who  neither  wanted  nor 
could  possibly  use  them.  Foreign  commerce  was 
interdicted  on  pain  of  death ;  all  social  improvement 
was  suppressed ;  and  to  prevent  the  inhabitants  from 
knowing  the  extent  of  their  degradation,  all  inter- 
course whatever  was  strictly  forbidden  with  any 
country  or  people,  besides  Spain  and  Spaniards,  and 


144  BOLIVAR. 

allowed  even  with  them  only  under  many  restrictions. 
Superstition  and  ignorance  were  upheld  as  the  surest 
support  of  the  colonial  system ;  so  that,  previous  to 
1810,  the  whole  continent,  from  Lima  to  Monte  Video, 
contained  but  one  wretched  printing  press,  and  that  in 
the  hands  of  the  monks,  who  consigned  to  the  dun- 
geons of  the  Inquisition  every  man  who  possessed  a 
prohibited  book. 

The  example  of  the  revolt  of  the  British  North 
American  colonies,  had  a  slow  effect  in  propagating 
revolutionary  ideas  in  the  south  ;  and  the  usurpation 
of  the  crown  of  Spain  by  Napoleon,  precipitated  those 
movements  which  resulted,  after  a  bloody  struggle,  in 
wresting  from  the  dominion  of  Spain  the  whole  of 
her  continental  possessions  in  America.  In  this 
momentous  contest,  Simon  Bolivar  bore  the  most  con- 
spicuous part,  and  his  life  comprises  the  substance  of 
the  history  of  the  country  in  which  his  military 
exploits  were  performed  during  its  most  eventful 
period. 

This  celebrated  man  was  born  in  the  city  of  Ca- 
raccas,  in  July,  1783.  He  belonged  to  a  family  of 
distinction,  and  was  one  of  the  few  natives  of  the 
Spanish  colonies  who  were  permitted  to  visit  Europe. 
After  finishing  his  studies  at  Madrid,  he  went  to 
France,  and  during  his  stay  at  Paris  rendered  him- 
self an  acceptable  guest  in  its  social  circles,  by  the 
amenity  of  his  manners  and  his  other  personal  recom- 
mendations. In  the  midst,  however,  of  all  the  seduc- 
tions of  that  gay  capital,  his  sanguine  temper  and 
ardent  imagination  anticipated  the  task  which  the 
future  fortunes  of  his  country  might  impose  upon 


BOLIVAR.  145 

him,  and  even  in  his  twenty-third  year  he  is  said  to 
have  contemplated  the  establishment  of  her  indepen- 
dence. While  at  Paris,  his  favorite'*  occupation  was 
the  study  of  those  branches  of  science  which  contrib- 
ute to  the  formation  of  the  character  of  a  warrior  and 
statesman.  Humboldt  and  Bonpland  were  his  inti- 
mate friends,  and  accompanied  him  in  his  excursions 
in  France ;  nor  did  he  think  his  travels  finished  till 
he  had  visited  England,  Italy,  and  a  part  of  Germany. 
On  his  return  to  Madrid,  he  was  married,  and  shortly 
afterwards  returned  to  America,  where  fre  arrived  in 
1810,  at  the  very  moment  when  his  countrymen  were 
about  to  unfurl  the  standard  of  independence.  On  his 
passage  homeward,  he  visited  the  United  States, 
where  he  gathered  some  political  knowledge,  which 
subsequent  events  rendered  highly  useful  to  him. 

The  revolution  began  in  Venezuela  on  Good  Fri- 
day, April  19th,  1810,  when,  by  a  popular  movement, 
the  captain-general  of  Caraccas  was  arrested  and 
deposed,  and  a  congress  convened  to  organize  a  new 
government.  The  talents  and  acquirements  of  Boli- 
var pointed  him  out  as  the  best  qualified  person  to  be 
placed  at  the  helm ;  but  he  disapproved  of  the  system 
adopted  by  the  congress,  and  refused  a  diplomatic 
mission  to  England.  He  even  declined  any  connec- 
tion with  the  government,  though  he  continued  a 
staunch  friend  to  the  cause  of  independence.  But  at 
length,  he  consented  to  proceed  to  England,  where  he 
solicited  the  British  cabinet  in  vain  to  espouse  the 
cause  of  the  revolution.  Finding  them  resolved  to 
maintain  a  strict  neutrality,  he  returned  to  Caraccas 
after  a  short  stay.  In  the  mean  time,  the  declaration 

3  VII.— 13 


146  BOLIVAR. 

of  independence  was  boldly  maintained  by  military 
force.  Miranda  was  appointed  commander-in-chief. 
Bolivar  took  the  post  of  colonel  in  the  army,  and 
governor  of  Puerto  Cabello,  the  strongest  place  in 
Venezuela. 

Success  attended  the  arms  of  the  patriots  till  1812, 
when  a  remarkable  event  caused  them  the  most  seri- 
ous reverses.  In  March  of  that  year,  a  violent  earth- 
quake devastated  the  whole  province,  and  among  other 
places  totally  destroyed  the  city  of  Caraccas,  with  all 
its  magazines  and  munitions  of  war.  This  dreadful 
calamity,  in  which  twenty  thousand  persons  perished, 
happened,  by  a  most  remarkable  coincidence,  on  the 
anniversary  of  the  very  day  in  which  the  revolution 
had  broken  out,  two  years  before.  The  priesthood, 
who,  as  a  body,  were  devoted  to  the  royal  interest, 
eagerly  seized  upon  this  circumstance.  In  their 
hands,  the  earthquake  became  the  token  of  the  Divine 
wrath  against  the  revolutionary  party.  The  supersti- 
tious multitude  was  easily  deluded  and  terrified  with 
such  representations  and  denunciations.  Priests, 
monks,  and  friars  were  stationed  in  the  streets,  vocife- 
rating in  the  midst  of  credulous  throngs  of  people 
trembling  with  fear,  while  the  royalist  commanders 
improved  the  occasion  by  overrunning  one  district 
after  another.  Bolivar  was  compelled  to  evacuate 
Puerto  Cabello.  Miranda's  conduct  having  become 
suspicious,  he  was  arrested  by  the  patriot  leaders  and 
delivered  up  to  the  Spanish  commander,  who  sent 
him  to  Spain,  where  he  died  in  a  dungeon.  Bolivar 
is  supposed  to  have  had  a  share  in  this  transaction,  in 
consequence  of  which  he  has  been  severely  censured. 


BOLIVAR.  147 

There  were  some  circumstances,  however,  which 
appeared  to  justify  a  suspicion  that  Miranda  was 
engaged  in  a  hostile  plot  with  the  British  cabinet. 

Bolivar  was  now  entrusted  with  the  command  of  an 
army  of  six  thousand  men,  which  he  led  across  the 
mountains  to  the  farther  extremity  of  New  Granada. 
In  the  hostilities  of  this  period,  deeds  of  the  most 
revolting  ferocity  were  perpetrated  by  the  royalist 
troops,  and  the  whole  country  was  reduced  to  a 
frightful  state  of  misery.  On  the  most  trivial  pre- 
texts, old  men,  women  and  children  were  arrested 
and  massacred  as  rebels.  Friars  and  military  butch- 
ers reigned  triumphant.  One  of  the  Spanish  officers, 
named  Suasola,  cut  off  the  ears  of  a  great  number  of 
patriots,  and  had  them  stuck  in  the  caps  of  his  soldiers 
for  cockades.  Bolivar,  who  had  hitherto  conducted 
the  war  with  great  forbearance,  was  inflamed  with 
indignation  at  these  cruelties ;  he  swore  to  avenge  his 
countrymen,  and  declared  that  every  royalist  who  fell 
into  his  hands  should  be  consigned  to  the  vengeance 
of  his  soldiery.  But  this  spirit  of  inexorable  justice 
and  retaliation  ill  accorded  with  Bolivar's  character, 
and  it  was  exercised  only  on  one  occasion,  when  eight 
hundred  Spaniards  were  shot.  Afterwards  it  was 
formally  announced  by  Bolivar,  that  "no  Spaniard 
shall  be  put  to  death  except  in  battle.  The  war  of 
death  shall  cease." 

The  royalists,  who,  by  the  practice  of  the  most 
bloody  and  ferocious  atrocities,  had  gained  possession, 
of  nearly  the  whole  country,  now  began  to  give  way 
before  the  arms  of  Bolivar.  Passing  from  one  victory 
to  another,  he  drove  the  enemy  from  every  post,  and 


148  BOLIVAR. 

ofl  the  4th  of  August,  1814,  made  his  triumphant 
entry  into  the  renovated  city  of  Caraccas.  The  enthu- 
siasm and  joy  of  the  people  exceeded  all  bounds,  and 
this  was  certainly  the  most  brilliant  day  in  his  whole 
career.  Greeted  by  the  acclamations  of  thousands  of 
the  inhabitants,  artillery,  bells  and  music,  the  Libera- 
tor was  drawn  into  the  city  in  a  triumphal  car  by 
twelve  beautiful  young  ladies  of  the  first  families  of  the 
capital,  dressed  in  white,  and  adorned  with  the  patriot 
colors,  while  others  crowned  him  with  laurel,  and 
strewed  his  way  with  flowers.  All  the  prisons  were 
thrown  open,  and  hundreds  who  had  been  suffering  for 
political  opinions  came  forth,  pale  and  emaciated,  to 
thank  him  for  their  liberation.  The  royalists  through- 
out the  province  capitulated,  and  the  triumph  of  the 
patriots  was  complete. 

Bolivar  was  now  constituted  dictator,  and  entrusted 
with  unlimited  power.  This  measure  was  prompted 
by  the  sentiments  of  enthusiasm  and  gratitude  during 
the  first  moments  of  exultation  in  the  people ;  but,  as 
is  the  case  in  all  infant  republics,  they  soon  began  to 
give  manifestations  of  a  jealousy  for  that  liberty  which 
had  cost  them  such  sacrifices.  The  power  of  the 
dictator,  who  delegated  his  authority  to  his  inferior 
officers,  by  whom  it  was  frequently  abused,  redoubled 
their  apprehensions.  Suspicions  arose,  that  the  pri- 
mary object  of  Bolivar  was  his  own  aggrandizement. 
In  consequence  of  this,  on  the  2d  of  January,  1814, 
he  made  a  formal  tender  of  his  resignation.  This 
ulled  the  suspicions  of  the  people,  and  the  royalists 
having  begun  to  rally  and  arm  their  negro  slaves,  he 
was  solicited  to  retain  the  dictatorship.  The  war  was 


BOLIVAR.  149 

now  renewed,  and  many  battles  were  fought.  On 
the  14th  of  June,  1814,  Bolivar  was  defeated  at  La 
Puerta,  with  the  loss  of  fifteen  hundred  men ;  and 
again  on  the  17th  of  August,  near  his  own  estate  of 
San  Mateo,  where  the  negro  leader  Boves,  with  a 
squadron  of  cavalry  named  the  "  infernal  division," 
with  black  crape  on  their  lances,  rushing  with  hideous 
shouts  from  an  ambush,  scattered  his  remaining  forces, 
and  would  have  made  him  prisoner  but  for  the  fleet- 
ness  of  his  horse.  His  cousin,  Ribas,  was  taken  and 
shot,  and  his  head  set  upon  the  wall  of  Caraccas. 
Bolivar's  beautiful  family  mansion  was  burnt  to  the 
ground,  and  he  was  compelled,  in  September,  to  leave 
the  royalists  again  in  complete  possession  of  all  Vene- 
zuela, while  thousands  of  the  patriot  army  deserted  to 
their  ranks. 

In  spite  of  these  reverses,  we  find  him,  in  Decem- 
ber of  the  same  year,  at  the  head  of  two  thousand 
men,  marching  upon  the  city  of  Bogota,  which  he 
stormed  and  captured.  But  other  circumstances  hav-» 
ing  caused  him  to  despair  of  any  permanent  success 
against  the  Spaniards  at  that  time,  he  left  the  country 
in  May,  1815,  and  retired  to  Jamaica.  The  war  in 
Europe  being  brought  to  a  close,  the  Spanish  govern- 
ment were  enabled  to  send  an  army  of  twelve  thousand 
men,  under  General  Morillo,  to  Venezuela  and  New 
Granada.  This  commander  overran  both  provinces, 
and  executed  two  thousand  of  the  inhabitants.  While 
Bolivar  resided  at  Kingston,  in  Jamaica,  he  employed 
himself  in  writing  a  defence  of  his  conduct  in  the 
civil  war  of  New  Granada,  and  issued  several  spirited 
exhortations  to  the  patriots,  for  which  his  assassination 
13* 


160  BOLIVAR. 

was  attempted  by  the  royalist  party.  A  Spaniard, 
stimulated  by  a  bribe  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  and  a 
promise  of  perfect  absolution  by  the  church,  ventured 
upon  this  undertaking.  He  obtained  admission  into 
Bolivar's  apartment,  and  stabbed  to  the  heart  his 
secretary,  who,  by  chance,  was  lying  in  the  general's 
hammock. 

From  Jamaica,  Bolivar  proceeded  to  Hayti,  where 
he  raised  a  force  of  blacks  and  patriot  emigrants,  with : 
which  he  landed  in  Cumana,  in  July,  1816.  But,  at 
Ocumare,  he  was  surrounded  by  the  royalists,  defeat- 
ed with  great  slaughter,  and  again  expelled  from  the 
country.  A  few  months  afterwards,  he  landed  once 
more  upon  the  continent,  and,  after  a  battle  of  three 
days,  completely  routed  the  army  of  Morillo.  This 
success  re-instated  him  in  his  office  of  captain-general 
and  supreme  head,  and  he  followed  up  this  advantage 
by  other  victories  over  the  royalists.  On  the  15th  of 
February,  1819,  the  congress  of  the  Venezuelan  repub- 
lic was  installed  at  Angostura,  when  Bolivar  submit- 
ted the  plan  of  a  republican  constitution,  and  formally 
laid  down  his  authority.  A  strong  representation  of 
the  exigencies  of  the  times  was  again  pressed  upon 
him,  and  became  his  inducement  to  resume  it.  In 
the  following  summer  he  undertook  an  expedition 
across  the  Cordilleras.  Fatigue  and  privations  of 
every  kind  were  endured  with  exemplary  fortitude  in 
the  advance  of  the  army  through  this  wild,  precipitous 
and  barren  region,  where  they  lost  their  artillery  and 
most  of  their  equipments.  On  the  heights  of  Tunja, 
they  found  a  Spanish  army  of  three  thousand  five  hun- 
dred men,  whom  they  instantly  attacked  and  defeated. 


BOLIVAR.  151 

This,  and  a  subsequent  victory  at  Boyaca,  compelled 
the  Spanish  commander-in-chief,  Barreyro,  to  sur- 
render the  remnant  of  his  army.  Samano,  the  Span- 
ish viceroy,  fled  from  Bogota,  leaving  in  the  treasury 
a  million  of  dollars  behind  him ;  and  the  deliverance 
of  New  Granada  was  complete. 

The  immediate  consequence  of  this  success  was 
the  union  of  the  two  provinces  of  Venezuela  and  New 
Granada,  under  the  title  of  the  Republic  of  Colombia, 
and  Bolivar  was  appointed  president,  in  1819.  It 
would  much  exceed  our  limits  to  relate  all  the  mil- 
itary events  which  followed  till  the  final  expulsion  of 
the  Spanish  armies  from  the  country.  Peru  had  now 
revolted,  and  solicited  the  aid  of  the  Colombians. 
Bolivar  marched  an  army  into  that  country  in  1822, 
drove  the  royalists  from  Lima,  and  was  appointed 
dictator  by  the  Peruvian  congress.  On  the  6th  of 
August,  1824,  he  gained  the  important  victory  of 
Junin,  and  the  Peruvian  congress  shortly  after  ten- 
dered him  a  present  of  a  million  of  dollars,  which  he 
refused.  The  royalists  being  again  defeated  at  Aya- 
cucho,  by  General  Sucre,  on  the  9th  of  December, 
1824,  the  war  of  Spanish  American  independence 
was  finally  closed,  after  one  hundred  thousand  lives 
had  been  sacrificed.  Bolivar  resigned  the  dictator- 
ship of  Peru  in  the  following  February,  and  in  his 
tour  through  the  country,  witnessed  one  uninterrupted 
scene  of  triumph  and  extravagant  exultation, — of  din- 
ners, balls,  bull-fights,  illuminations,  triumphal  arches 
and  processions.  A  sumptuous  banquet  was  given 
on  the  summit  of  the  famous  mountain  of  Potosi, 
and  the  Liberator,  in  the  enthusiasm  excited  by  the 


152  BOLIVAR. 

excessive  adulation  which  he  received,  exclaimed  on 
that  occasion,  "  The  value  of  all  the  riches  that  are 
buried  in  the  Andes  beneath  my  feet  is  nothing  com- 
pared to  the  glory  of  having  borne  the  standard  of 
independence  from  the  sultry  banks  of  the  Orinoco, 
to  fix  it  on  the  frozen  peak  of  this  mountain,  whose 
wealth  has  excited  the  envy  and  astonishment  of  the 
world." 

A  new  republic,  formed  out  of  the  conquered  pro- 
vinces, was  now  constituted,  and  named,  from  the  Lib- 
erator, Bolivia.  From  this  republic  he  received  a  gift 
of  a  million  of  dollars,  on  condition  that  the  money 
should  be  appropriated  to  the  liberation  of  negro  slaves 
in  that  territory.  At  the  request  of  the  congress,  he 
framed  a  scheme  of  government,  known  as  the  "  Bol- 
ivian code."  This  was  adopted  both  in  Bolivia,  and 
by  the  congress  of  Lima,  where  Bolivar  was  made 
president.  On  the  22d  of  June,  1826,  a  scheme  pro- 
jected by  him  for  a  grand  congress  of  the  Spanish 
American  republics,  was  carried  into  effect,  and  this 
meeting,  consisting  of  deputies  from  Colombia,  Mex- 
ico, Guatimala,  Peru  and  Bolivia,  was  convened  at 
Panama.  The  main  object  of  this  congress  was  to 
establish  an  annual  convention  of  state  representatives, 
to  discuss  diplomatic  affairs,  decide  international  dis- 
putes, promote  liberal  principles,  and  ensure  a  union 
of  strength  in  repelling  any  foreign  attack.  This 
was  a  noble  idea,  but  too  vast  an  undertaking  for  the 
means  of  performance  which  actually  existed  within 
the  control  of  the  Liberator,  and  it  led  to  no  great 
practical  results. 

On  the  return  of  Bolivar  to  Colombia,  he  found 


BOLIVAR.  153 

two  thirds  of  the  republic  in  a  state  of  insurrection. 
Great  dissatisfaction  existed  in  Venezuela  with  the 
central  government,  and  the  inhabitants,  headed  by 
Paez,  a  mulatto  general,  rose  and  declared  themselves 
in  favor  of  a  federal  system.  Bolivar,  having  reached 
Bogota,  the  capital,  assumed  extraordinary  powers, 
being  authorized  to  take  that  step  by  the  constitution, 
in  its  provisions  for  cases  of  rebellion.  He  then  pro- 
ceeded to  Venezuela ;  but,  instead  of  punishing  the 
insurgents,  he  announced  a  general  amnesty,  and 
confirmed  Paez  in  the  command  which  he  had  as- 
sumed. This  led  to  strong  suspicions  that  the  insur- 
rection had  been  instigated  by  Bolivar,  in  order  to 
afford  a  pretext  for  assuming  the  dictatorship,  and  that 
he  and  Paez  had  acted  with  a  collusive  understand- 
ing. The  truth,  on  this  subject,  has  never  yet  been 
clearly  revealed.  The  presence  of  Bolivar  quieted 
the  commotion,  as,  in  spite  of  the  suspicions  which 
rested  upon  him,  his  popularity  was  still  very  great. 
He  addressed  a  letter  to  the  senate  of  Colombia,  dis- 
claiming all  ambitious  designs,  and  offering  his  resig- 
nation. This  proposal  caused  violent  debates  in  the 
congress,  and  many  members  .  voted  to  accept  it ; 
but  a  majority  were  in  favor  of  continuing  him  in 
office. 

At  a  congress  held  at  Ocana,  in  March,  1828,  Bol- 
ivar assumed  more  of  an  anti-republican  tone,  and 
recommended  strengthening  the  executive  power. 
Many  of  his  adherents,  in  which  the  soldiery  were 
included,  seconded  his  views,  and  declared  that  the 
people  were  not  prepared  to  appreciate  the  excellence 
of  institutions  purely  republican,  a  fact  of  which  there 


154  BOLIVAR. 

can  be  little  doubt.  They  carried  this  doctrine,  how- 
ever, to  an  unwarrantable  extreme,  by  insisting  that 
the  president  should  be  intrusted  with  absolute  dis- 
cretionary power.  This  proposition  was  indignantly 
rejected  by  a  majority  of  the  congress,  and  the  par- 
tisans of  Bolivar  vacated  their  seats ;  in  consequence 
of  which,  that  body  was  left  without  a  quorum,  and 
dissolved.  The  city  of  Bogota  then  took  the  matter 
into  its  own  hands,  and  conferred  upon  Bolivar  the 
title  of  Supreme  Chief  of  Colombia,  with  absolute 
power  to  regulate  all  the  affairs  of  government.  His 
immediate  concurrence  in  this  illegal  and  revolution- 
ary measure  has  been  deemed  a  sufficient  proof  that 
it  was  brought  about  by  his  instigation.  On  the  20th 
of  June,  1829,  he  entered  that  city  in  magnificent 
state,  and  assumed  his  authority.  These  proceed- 
ings could  not  but  lead  to  violent  measures.  An 
attempt  was  soon  made  to  assassinate  the  dictator. 
Several  persons  broke  into  his  chamber  at  midnight, 
and  shot  two  officers  of  the  staff,  who  were  with  him; 
Bolivar  himself  only  escaped  by  leaping  out  of  the 
window  and  lying  concealed  under  a  bridge.  San- 
tander,  the  vice-president,  and  several  officers  of  the 
army,  were  tried  and  convicted  of  being  implicated  in 
this  conspiracy.  The  former  was  sentenced  to  death, 
but  Bolivar  was  satisfied  with  banishing  him  from 
Colombia. 

The  whole  country  became  rent  with  factions,  com- 
motions and  rebellion.  The  popularity  of  the  Liber- 
ator was  gone,  and  his  authority  was  disclaimed  in 
almost  every  quarter.  The  events  which  ensued  do 
not  require  to  be  specified  here,  as  they  are  nothing 


BOLIVAR.  155 

more  than  a  repetition  of  what  had  been  acted  over 
many  times  before.  At  length  Bolivar,  finding  his 
influence  at  an  end,  and  his  health  and  spirits  broken, 
determined  to  withdraw  from  public  life,  take  leave 
of  the  country,  and  retire  to  Europe.  At  a  general 
convention  at  Bogota,  in  January,  1830,  he  resigned 
his  authority  for  the  last  time,  and  rejected  many 
entreaties  to  resume  it.  He  withdrew  to  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Carthagena,  where  he  spent  nearly  two 
years  in  retirement,  when,  finding  his  end  approach- 
ing, he  issued  his  farewell  address  to  the  people  of 
Colombia,  in  the  following  words  : — 

"  Colombians, — I  have  unceasingly  and  disinterest- 
edly exerted  my  energies  for  your  welfare.  I  have 
abandoned  my  fortune  and  my  personal  tranquillity 
in  your  cause.  I  am  the  victim  of  my  persecutors, 
who  have  now  conducted  me  to  my  grave :  but  I  par- 
don them.  Colombians,  I  leave  you.  My  last  prayers 
are  offered  up  for  the  tranquillity  of  my  country ;  and 
if  my  death  will  contribute  to  this  desirable  end  by 
extinguishing  your  factions,  I  shall  descend  with  feel- 
ings of  contentment  into  the  tomb  that  is  soon  to 
receive  me."  A  week  afterwards,  he  breathed  his 
last,  at  San  Pedro,  near  Carthagena,  on  the  17th  of 
December,  1831,  at  the  age  of  forty-eight. 

His  death  appears  to  have  afflicted  his  countrymen 
with  the  deepest  sorrow  and  remorse.  In  an  instant, 
they  forgot  the  jealousies  and  suspicions  which  had 
filled  their  breasts  with  regard  to  their  great  chief, 
and,  by  a  sudden  revulsion  of  feeling,  they  indulged 
in  the  most  bitter  self-reproach  at  the  reflection,  that 
the  man  who  had  devoted  his  fortune  and  his  life  to 


166  BOLIVAR. 

the  liberation  and  welfare  of  his  country,  had  sunk 
under  their  ungenerous  reproaches,,  and  died  of  a 
broken  heart,  the  victim  of  national  ingratitude. 
Almost  every  town  in  Colombia  paid  honors  to  his 
memory  by  orations,  funeral  processions,  and  other 
demonstrations  of  grief  and  respect. 

The  fortunes  of  this  eminent  man  were  most  singu- 
lar. During  one  period,  he  was  regarded  as  one  of  the 
greatest  characters  of  modern  times.  At  the  present 
moment,  he  is  almost  forgotten ;  and  another  genera- 
tion may  witness  a  revival  of  his  fame.  In  the  early 
part  of  his  career,  he  was  believed  to  be  a  disinterested 
patriot ;  at  the  close,  he  had  totally  lost  the  confidence 
of  his  countrymen,  and  he  died  tainted  with  the  sus- 
picion of  intriguing  with  the  French  government  to 
subjugate  the  country  by  European  arms  and  establish 
a  monarchy.  There  are  some  acts  of  his  life  which 
have  an  equivocal  character ;  but,  judging  of  his  whole 
conduct  from  such  evidence  as  is  within  our  reach, 
we  are  compelled  to  pronounce  his  acquittal  of  the 
charge  of  entertaining  designs  hostile  to  the  liberties 
of  his  country.  Bolivar  is  not  to  be  judged  by  the 
standard  which  we  apply  to  the  character  and  merits 
of  Washington.  The  cool-tempered,  orderly,  intelli- 
gent, and  well  educated  North  Americans,  who 
achieved  their  independence  with  a  moderation,  sobri- 
ety and  self-restraint  which  drew  forth  the  applause 
and  admiration  of  the  world,  were  a  very  different 
race  from  the  heterogeneous  population  of  Colombia, 
ignorant,  insubordinate,  superstitious,  fanatical,  fero- 
cious, little  advanced  in  civilization,  and  subject  to  all 
the  sudden  impulses  of  a  rash  and  fiery  southern 


BOLIVAR.  157 

temper.  It  was  impossible  to  govern  such  men,  amid 
the  turbulence  of  jealous  factions,  by  the  weak  instru- 
ment of  a  written  constitution. 

The  proofs  of  Bolivar's  disinterestedness  are  very 
strong.  He  sacrificed  a  large  fortune  in  the  cause  of 
his  country ;  and  had  many  opportunities  of  acquiring 
enormous  wealth,  all  of  which  he  neglected.  As  a 
military  commander,  he  is  entitled  to  high  praise. 
Though  often  defeated,  his  perseverance  and  fortitude 
in  rising  superior  to  every  obstacle,  are  everywhere 
conspicuous.  The  difficulties  of  marshaling,  disci- 
plining and  leading  an  army  to  battle  during  the  rev- 
olution of  Colombia,  are  hardly  to  be  conceived. 
Bolivar's  troops  often  consisted  chiefly  of  desperate 
adventurers,  eager  only  for  pay  and  plunder ;  ragged 
Creoles,  Indians,  naked  negroes,  and  cavalry  of  half- 
savage  Llaneros  mounted  on  wild  horses.  Whole 
regiments  often  deserted  from  one  side  to  the  other, 
and  back  again,  according  to  the  chance  of  success. 

The  fatigues,  cares  and  anxieties  to  which  he  was 
constantly  exposed  during  a  nioet  eventful  career  of  • 
nearly  twenty  years,  were  strongly  marked  in  his 
countenance,  and  at  forty-five  he  had  the  appearance 
of  a  man  of  sixty.  He  was  capable  of  enduring  the 
most  severe  labor ;  was  a  remarkably  bold  horseman, 
and  was  fond  of  dancing  in  his  spurs.  He  was 
abstemious  in  personal  matters,  but  hospitable  and 
highly  munificent  in  giving  entertainments.  His 
manners  were  easy  and  dignified,  and  he  was  gifted 
with  an  extraordinary  faculty  of  prompt  repartee  in 
conversation.  In  one  instance,  he  was  known  to 
give  seventeen  unpremeditated  answers  in  succession, 
vii. — 14 


158 


BOLIVAR. 


each  of  which,  if  prepared  by  deliberate  study,  would 
have  been  admired  for  its  happy  adaptation  to  the 
subject  and  the  occasion.  In  proposing  a  toast,  in 
returning  thanks,  or  in  speaking  impromptu  on  any 
casual  subject,  he  never  was  surpassed. 


THE  DICTATOR  FRANCIA. 

SPANISH  AMERICA,  which,  in  its  revolutionary  career, 
has  offered  to  our  view  examples  of  the  wildest  ex- 
cesses of  popular  violence  and  unbridled  democracy, 
has  also  shown  an  instance  of  the  sternest  and  most 
unmitigated  despotism.  This  example  is  presented  to 
us  in  the  case  of  Doctor  Francia,  of  Paraguay,  who, 
from  an  obscure  origin,  raised  himself  to  power  more 
absolute  than  that  of  Napoleon,  and,  after  reigning 
twenty-six  years  the  sole  authority  in  the  state,  and 
the  supreme  arbiter  of  the  life  and  death  of  every 
inhabitant  of  the  country,  died  peaceably  in  his  bed, 
sincerely  bewailed  and  regretted  by  the  people.  So 
extraordinary  a  man  is  without  a  parallel  in  modern 
times,  and  it  were  to  be  wished  that  we  possessed 
more  abundant  materials  for  writing  his  history  and 
analyzing  his  character.  A  strange  man  himself,  he 
lived  in  a  strange  country,  and  most  accounts  of  him 
have  been  composed  under  circumstances  liable  to 
suspicion. 

Jose  Gaspar  Rodriguez  Francia  was  born  near 
Assumpcion,  in  Paraguay,  in  the  year  1757.  His 
father  was  either  a  Frenchman  or  a  Portuguese,  and 
his  mother  a  Paraguay  Creole.  He  was  one  of  several 
children.  At  the  University  of  Cordova,  in  Tucuman, 
he  received  such  an  education  as  a  classical  seminary 
in  the  interior  of  South  America  could  furnish.  Being 


THE    DICTATOR    FRANCIA. 


THE    DICTATOR   FRANCIA.  161 

a  person  of  shrewd,  saturnine  disposition,  and  retired, 
studious  habits,  he  contrived,  by  close  application,  to 
acquire  a  degree  of  knowledge  seldom  placed  within 
the  reach  of  a  student  whose  pursuits  were  watched 
by  the  jealous  ecclesiastics  of  that  region.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  branches  of  education  common  in  the 
university,  he  contrived  to  acquire  some  knowledge 
of  algebra,  geometry  and  Greek.  Having  prosecuted 
his  studies  through  the  ordinary  term,  he  returned  to 
Paraguay,  and  entered  into  practice  as  a  lawyer.* 
His  professional  reputation,  in  that  country  where 
justice  was  regularly  bought  and  sold,  was  not  only 
unsullied  by  venality,  but  conspicuous  for  rectitude. 
The  following  anecdote  of  his  uprightness  has  been 
related  by  a  writer  no  way  disposed  to  be  unduly 
partial  to  the  subject  of  it. 

Francia  had  an  acquaintance  in  Assumpcion,  of  the 
name  of  Domingo  Rodriguez.  This  man  had  cast  a 
longing  eye  upon  a  certain  Naboth's  vineyard ;  and 
this  Naboth,  named  Estanislao  Machain,  was  Fran- 
cia's  open  enemy.  Rodriguez,  never  doubting  that 
the  young  advocate,  like  other  lawyers,  would  under- 
take an  unrighteous  cause  for  a  suitable  reward,  went 
to  him,  offered  a  liberal  retaining  fee,  and  directed 
him  to  institute  a  suit  in  law  for  the  recovery  of  the 
estate  in  question.  Francia  saw  at  once  that  the 
pretensions  were  founded  in  injustice  and  fraud ;  and 
he  not  only  refused  to  act  as  his  counsel,  but  plainly 
told  Rodriguez,  that,  much  as  he  disliked  his  antago- 

*  As  he  also  studied  medicine,  it  is  supposed  that  the  title  of 
Dr.  was  derived  from  that  circumstance ;  though  it  seems  that 
he  never  practised  in  the  medical  profession. 
K  14* 


162  THE    DICTATOR    FRANCIA. 

nist,  Machain,  yet,  if  he  persisted  in  his  iniquitous  suit, 
he  would  himself  undertake  the  cause  of  the  injured 
party.  Covetousness,  however,  is  not  so  easily  driven 
from  its  purpose.  Rodriguez  persisted,  and  as  he  was 
a  man  of  great  fortune,  the  suit  appeared  to  be  going 
against  Machain  and  his  estate.  At  this  critical  stage 
of  the  affair,  the  slave  who  attended  the  door  of  the 
luckless  Machain,  was  astonished  one  evening  to  see 
Francia  present  himself  before  it,  wrapped  up  in  his 
cloak.  Knowing  that  the  doctor  and  his  master,  like 
Montague  and  Capulet,  were  "  smoke  in  each  other's 
eyes,"  he  refused  him  admittance,  and  ran  to  inform 
his  master  of  this  strange  and  unexpected  visit.  Mac- 
hain, no  less  struck  by  the  circumstance  than  his 
slave,  for  some  time  hesitated,  but  at  length  deter- 
mined to  admit  his  old  ^nerny.  In  walked  the  silent 
visiter  to  Machain's  chamber,  and  spread  the  papers 
connected  with  the  law  case  upon  the  table. 

"  Machain,"  said  Francia,  "  you  know  I  am  your 
enemy.  But  I  know  that  my  friend  Rodriguez  medi- 
tates, and  will  certainly,  unless  I  interfere,  carry  on 
against  you  an  act  of  gross  and  lawless  aggression. 
I  have  come  to  offer  my  services  in  your  defence." 
The  astonished  man  could  scarcely  credit  his  senses ; 
but  he  poured  forth  his  expressions  of  gratitude  in 
terms  of  thankful  acquiescence. 

Pleas,  it  would  appear,  are  made  in  that  country  by 
writing.  The  first  paper  sent  into  court,  confounded 
the  adverse  counsel,  and  staggered  the  judge,  who 
was  in  their  interest.  "  My  friend,"  said  that  func- 
tionary to  the  leading  advocate  for  the  plaintiff",  "  1 
cannot  proceed  in  this  matter,  unless  you  bribe  Dr. 
Francia  to  be  silent."  "  I  will  try,"  was  tie  answer ; 


THE    DICTATOR    FRANCIA.  163 

and  the  advocate  went  to  him  with  a  hundred  doub- 
loons. He  offered  them  as  a  bribe  to  Francia,  to  let 
the  matter  slip  ;  and  more  surely  to  gain  his  consent, 
he  advised  him  that  this  was  done  at  the  suggestion 
of  the  judge  himself. 

"  Leave  my  house  with  your  vile  proposals  and 
contemptible  gold  ! "  was  the  indignant  answer ;  and 
the  menial  tool  of  the  unjust  judge  waited  for  no 
further  dismissal.  Francia,  putting  on  his  capote, 
hurried  at  once  to  the  residence  of  that  magistrate. 
"  Sir,"  said  he,  after  mentioning  the  attempt  to  bribe 
him,  "  you  are  a  disgrace  to  law,  and  a  blot  upon 
justice.  You  are,  moreover,  completely  in  my  power ; 
and  unless  to-morrow  you  pronounce  a  decision  in 
favor  of  my  client,  I  will  make  your  seat  upon  the 
bench  too  hot  for  you ;  and  the  insignia  of  your  judi- 
cial office  shall  become  the  emblems  of  your  shame." 
The  morrow  did  not  fail  to  bring  a  decision  in  favor 
of  Francia's  client.  The  judge  lost  his  character, 
and  the  young  doctor's  fame  resounded  far  and  wide. 

His  uncommon  reputation  for  integrity,  a  more  than 
common  acuteness  and  learning  in  his  profession,  pro- 
found knowledge  of  the  foibles  and  peculiarities  of 
his  countrymen,  together  with  his  fame  for  a  myste- 
rious familiarity  with  the  occult  sciences,  soon  caused 
Dr.  Francia  to  be  regarded  as  a  most  remarkable 
personage.  In  the  deplorable  state  of  ignorance 
then  existing  in  South  America,  it  was  a  wonderful 
faculty  that  enabled  a  man  to  multiply  and  subtract 
the  letters  of  the  alphabet;  to  read  a  language 
written  in  strange  characters;  to  measure  an  angle 
and  ascertain  the  height  of  a  mountain  with  a  theo- 


164  THE    DICTATOR    FRANCIA. 

dolite.  Francia,  celebrated  for  universal  knowledge, 
stood  upon  high  vantage-ground,  and  in  a  great  public 
exigence  could  not  fail  to  be  looked  upon  as  one  of 
the  individuals  destined  to  take  the  lead  in  public 
affairs. 

When  the  province  of  La  Plata  revolted  from  Spain, 
the  people  of  Paraguay  refused  to  acknowledge  the 
authority  of  the  former  government ;  in  consequence 
of  which  an  army  was  sent  from  Buenos  Ayres,  in 
1810,  under  General  Belgrano,  to  reduce  Paraguay. 
He  was  defeated  and  driven  back.  The  next  year  a 
revolutionary  government  was  established,  and  Fran- 
cia, who  had  previously  been  in  public  office  as  a 
member  of  the  municipal  council  and  mayor  of  the 
capital,  Assumpcion,  was  appointed  secretary  of  the 
congress.  Everything  was  in  confusion ;  the  army, 
as  is  usual  on  such  occasions,  seemed  inclined  to  take 
the  lead,  and  for  some  time,  faction  and  terror  alone 
prevailed ;  but  Francia,  at  this  critical  moment,  ob- 
tained an  ascendency  which  he  never  afterwards  lost. 
His  superior  talents,  address  and  information  were 
continually  in  requisition,  and  made  him  indispensa- 
ble on  all  occasions.  Nothing  of  any  importance 
could  be  transacted  without  him.  The  members  of 
the  congress  were  entirely  inexperienced  in  political 
matters,  and  grossly  illiterate.  Such  a  body  attempted 
to  found  a  republic,  and  we  are  told  that  their  consti- 
tution was  compiled  from  passages  in  Rollin's  Ancient 
History. 

The  business  proceeded  with  small  success  under 
such  auspices.  Intrigues,  cabals  and  factions  dis- 
gusted Francia  to  such  a  degree  that  he  resigned  his 


THh    DICTATOR    FRANCIA.  165 

o/Tu-.e,  and  retired  to  his  country  seat.  The  reader 
may  wish  for  a  picture  of  so  remarkable  a  man  as  this 
Dionysius  of  the  western  world,  and  we  will  copy  the 
following  description  of  him  at  the  period  of  his  retire- 
ment. It  is  drawn  by  an  English  merchant,  who 
resided  in  Paraguay  at  that  time. 

"  On  one  of  those  lovely  evenings  in  Paraguay, 
after  the  south-west  wind  has  both  cleared  and  cooled 
the  air,  I  was  drawn,  in  my  pursuit  of  game,  into  a 
peaceful  valley,  remarkable  for  its  combination  of  all 
the  striking  features  of  the  scenery  of  the  country. 
Suddenly  I  came  upon  a  neat  and  unpretending  "cot- 
tage. Up  rose  a  partridge  ;  I  fired,  and  the  bird  came 
to  the  ground.  A  voice  from  behind  called  out,  "Buen 
tiro," — "  a  good  shot."  I  turned  round,  and  beheld  a 
gentleman  of  about  fifty  years  of  age,  dressed  in  a  suit 
of  black,  with  a  large  scarlet  capote,  or  cloak,  thrown 
over  his  shoulders.  He  had  a  mate  cup  in  one  hand, 
a  cigar  in  the  other ;  and  a  little  urchin  of  a  negro, 
with  his  arms  crossed,  was  in  attendance  by  the  gen- 
tleman's side.  The  stranger's  countenance  was  dark, 
and  his  black  eyes  were  very  penetrating ;  while  his 
jet  hair,  combed  back  from  a  bold  forehead,  and  hang- 
ing in  natural  ringlets  over  his  shoulders,  gave  him  a 
dignified,  and  striking  air.  He  wore  on  his  shoes 
large  golden  buckles,  and  at  the  knees  of  his  breeches 
the  same. 

"  In  exercise  of  the  primitive  and  simple  hospitality 
common  in  the  country,  I  was  invited  to  sit  down 
under  the  corridor,  and  to  take  a  cigar  and  mate,  or  cup 
of  Paraguay  tea.  A  celestial  globe,  a  large  telescope, 
and  a  theodolite  were  under  the  little  portico ;  and  I 


166  THE    DICTATOR    FRANCIA. 

immediately  inferred  that  the  personage  before  me 
was  no  other  than  Doctor  Francia.  He  introduced 
me  to  his  library,  in  a  confined  room,  with  a  very 
small  window,  and  that  so  shaded  by  the  roof  of  the 
corridor  as  to  admit  the  least  portion  of  light  neces- 
sary for  study.  The  library  was  arranged  on  three 
rows  of  shelves  extending  across  the  room,  and  might 
have  consisted  of  three  hundred  volumes.  There 
were  many  ponderous  books  on  law ;  a  few  on  the 
inductive  sciences  ;  some  in  French  and  some  in  Latin 
upon  subjects  of  general  literature,  with  Euclid's  Ele- 
ments, and  some  schoolboy  treatises  on  algebra.  On 
a  large  table  were  several  heaps  of  law  papers  and 
processes.  Several  folios,  bound  in  vellum,  were  out- 
spread upon  it.  A  lighted  candle,  though  placed  there 
solely  to  light  cigars,  lent  its  feeble  aid  to  illumine 
the  room ;  while  a  mate  cup  and  inkstand,  both  of 
silver,  stood  on  another  part  of  the  table.  There  was 
neither  carpet  nor  mat  on  the  brick  floor ;  and  the 
chairs  were  of  such  ancient  fashion,  size  and  weight, 
that  it  required  a  considerable  effort  to  move  them 
from  one  spot  to  another." 

Francia's  withdrawal  left  the  government  without 
an  efficient  adviser.  Embarrassments  multiplied,  and 
a  second  congress  was  convened  ;  "  such  a  congress," 
as  we  are  told,  "  as  never  met  before  in  the  world :  a 
congress  which  knew  not  its  right  hand  from  its  left ; 
which  drank  infinite  rum  in  the  taverns,  and  had  one 
wish, — that  of  getting  on  horseback  home  to  its  field- 
husbandry  and  partridge-shooting."  Such  men,  and 
we  need  not  wonder,  could  not  govern  Paraguay. 
Francia  was  called  from  his  retirement,  and  a  new 


THE    DICTATOR   FEANCIA.  167 

constitution  was  formed,  with  two  chief  magistrates, 
called  consuls.  Francia  and  a  colleague  were  ap- 
pointed to  these  offices  for  one  year,  each  in  supreme 
command  for  four  months  at  a  time ;  but  as  the  former 
took  the  precedence,  he  had  two  thirds  of  the  year  for 
his  own  term  of  authority.  Two  carved  chairs  were 
prepared  for  the  use  of  the  consuls,  one  inscribed  with 
the  name  of  Ccesar,  and  the  other  with  that  of  Pompey. 
It  is  needless  to  say  which  of  the  consuls  took  posses- 
sion of  the  former.  By  consummate  address  and 
management,  and  by  the  influence  which  he  had 
obtained  over  the  troops,  Francia  got  rid  of  his  col- 
league at  the  close  of  the  year,  in  1814,  and  was  pro- 
claimed dictator  for  three  years.  At  the  end  of  that 
time,  he  found  no  difficulty  in  assuming  the  dictator- 
ship for  life.  From  the  moment  that  he  felt  his 
footing  firm,  and  his  authority  quietly  submitted  to, 
his  whole  character  appeared  to  undergo  a  remarkable 
change.  Without  faltering  or  hesitation,  without  a 
pause  of  human  weakness,  he  proceeded  to  frame 
the  boldest  and  most  extraordinary  system  of  despot- 
ism that  was  ever  the  work  of  a  single  individual. 
He  assumed  the  whole  power,  legislative  and  execu- 
tive ;  the  people  had  but  one  privilege,  and  one  duty — 
that  of  obedience.  All  was  done  rapidly,  boldly,  unre- 
servedly, and  powerfully ;  he  well  knew  the  character 
of  the  people  at  whose  head  he  had  placed  himself, 
and  who,  strange  to  say,  once  thought  themselves  pos- 
sessed of  energy  and  virtue  enough  for  a  republic. 

The  army,  of  course,  was  his  chief  instrument  of 
power.  It  consisted  of  five  thousand  regular  troops, 
and  twenty  thousand  militia.  He  took  care  to  secure 


168  THE    DICTATOR    FRANCIA. 

their  most  devoted  attachment,  and  it  does  not  appear 
that  during  his  whole  career  of  despotism  the  small- 
est symptom  of  disaffection  was  ever  manifested  in 
their  ranks.  Francia,  at  the  time  of  his  accession  to 
the  supreme  authority,  was  past  the  age  when  any  dor- 
mant vice,  save  that  of  avarice,  is  likely  to  spring  up 
in  the  character.  He  was  not  dazzled  with  the  pomp 
and  circumstance  of  exalted  rank,  nor  even  by  that 
nobler  weakness,  the  desire  of  fame ;  for  he  took  no 
pains  to  make  an  ostentatious  display  of  his  power, 
or  spread  his  reputation  among  foreign  nations,  or 
hand  his  name  down  to  posterity.  On  the  contrary, 
he  carefully  shrouded  himself,  and,  as  far  as  possible, 
his  dominions,  in  haughty  seclusion.  His  ruling,  or 
rather  absorbing  passion,  was  a  love  of  power,  and  of 
power  for  itself  alone.  It  was  with  him  a  pure,  ab- 
stracted principle,  free  from  desire  of  the  splendor 
which  usually  surrounds  it,  of  the  wealth  which  usu- 
ally supports  it,  and  of  the  fame  which  usually  suc- 
ceeds it. 

The  most  remarkable  feature  in  his  administration, 
was  the  perfect  isolation  in  which  he  placed  the 
country.  Intercourse  with  foreign  nations  was  abso- 
lutely interdicted.  Commerce  was  at  an  end  :  the 
ships  lay  high  and  dry,  their  pitchless  seams  yawn- 
ing, on  the  banks  of  the  rivers,  and  no  man  could 
trade  but  by  the  Dictator's  license.  No  man  could 
leave  Paraguay  on  any  pretext  whatever,  and  it  be- 
came as  hermetically  sealed  against  the  escape  of  its 
inhabitants  as  the  "  Happy  Valley"  of  Abyssinia.  In 
this  restrictive  policy,  he  was  assisted  by  the  peculiar 
geographical  features  of  the  country.  Paraguay,  in 


THE    DICTATOR   FKANCIA.  169 

the  midst  of  an  immense  and  thinly-peopled  continent, 
stood  alone  and  impenetrable ;  its  large  rivers,  wide 
forests  and  morasses  render  travelling  difficult  and 
hazardous.  A.ny  one  attempting  to  cross  the  fron- 
tiers, must  encounter  the  danger  of  losing  himself  in 
the  wilderness,  of  being  destroyed  by  those  immense 
and  terrible  conflagrations  to  which  the  thick  woods 
are  subject,  of  excessive  fatigue  and  exposure,  of  star- 
vation, and  of  attacks  from  venomous  reptiles,  wild 
beasts  and  savages.  The  only  possibility  of  escape 
is  during  the  time  that  the  river  Paraguay  overflows 
the  surrounding  plains ;  it  is  then  barely  practicable. 
A  Frenchman,  with  five  negroes,  made  the  attempt  in 
1823.  One  of  them  died  of  fatigue,  another  by  the 
bite  of  a  snake.  At  one  time  they  were  surrounded 
by  the  burning  woods  ;  and  at  another  were  involved 
in  an  immense  glade  in  the  midst  of  a  forest,  where 
they  wandered  about  for  fifteen  days  in  search  of  an 
outlet,  and  were  finally  obliged  to  return  by  the  open- 
ing through  which  they  entered.  Being  at  last  so 
reduced  by  fatigue  and  famine  that  they  were  unable 
to  resist  a  single  man,  they  were  recaptured  by  a  ser- 
geant of  militia. 

But  Francia's  tyranny  was  not  without  signal  ben 
efits  to  the  country.  The  land  had  peace,  while  all 
the  rest  of  Spanish  America  was  plunged  into  frightful 
anarchy,  raging  and  ravening  like  a  huge  dog-kennel 
gone  mad.  Paraguay  was  domineered  over  by  a 
tyrant,  but  Peru  and  Mexico,  Chili  and  Guatimala, 
suffered  the  oppression  of  forty  tyrants.  Francia's 
soldiers  were  kept  well  drilled  and  in  strict  subordi- 
nation, always  ready  to  march  where  the  wild  Indians 
vn. — 15 


170  THE    DICTATOR   FEANCIA. 

or  other  enemies  made  their  appearance.  Guard- 
houses were  established  at  short  distances  along  the 
rivers  and  around  the  dangerous  frontiers ;  and  wher- 
ever an  Indian  cavalry  horde  showed  itself,  an  alarm 
cannon  announced  the  danger ;  the  military  hastened 
to  the  spot,  and  the  savage  marauders  vanished  into 
the  heart  of  the  deserts.  A  great  improvement,  too, 
was  visible  in  other  quarters.  The  finances  were 
accurately  and  frugally  administered.  There  were 
no  sinecures  in  the  government ;  every  official  person 
was  compelled  to  do  his  work.  Strict  justice  between 
man  and  man  was  enforced  in  the  courts  of  law. 
The  affair  of  Naboth's  vineyard  could  not  have 
occurred  under  the  Dictator's  rule.  He  himself  would 
accept  no  gift,  not  even  the  smallest  trifle.  He  intro- 
duced schools  of  various  sorts,  promoted  education  by 
all  the  means  in  his  power,  and  repressed  superstition 
as  far  as  it  could  be  done  among  such  a  people.  He 
promoted  agriculture  in  a  singular  manner,  not  merely 
making  two  blades  of  grass  grow  where  one  grew 
before,  but  two  crops  of  corn  in  a  season.  In  the  year 
1820,  a  cloud  of  locusts  devastated  the  whole  country, 
and  the  prospect  of  universal  famine  threatened  the 
land.  The  summer  was  at  an  end,  and  there  was 
no  foreign  commerce  by  which  supplies  might  be 
obtained  from  abroad.  Francia  hit  upon  an  expedient, 
such  as  had  never  entered  into  the  contemplation  of 
any  man  in  Paraguay  before.  He  issued  a  peremp- 
tory command,  ordering,  under  a  severe  penalty,  that 
the  farmers  throughout  the  country  should  sow  their 
lands  anew.  The  result  was,  that  a  second  crop  was 
produced,  and  the  people  were  amazed  wi/h  the  im- 


THE    DICTATOR    FRANCIA.  171 

portant  discovery  that  two  harvests  were,  every  year, 
possible  in  Paraguay.  Agriculture  made  immense 
progress ;  the  cultivation  of  many  articles,  before 
unknown  in  the  country,  was  now  successfully  intro- 
duced, and  among  others  rice  and  cotton.  Manu- 
factures kept  pace  with  agriculture,  and  the  clothing 
of  the  people,  which  had  previously,  for  the  most  part, 
been  imported  ready  made,  at  a  great  expense,  was 
now  entirely  produced  at  home. 

The  city  of  Assumpcion  was  an  assemblage  of  nar- 
row, crooked,  irregular  streets,  interspersed  with  trees, 
gardens  and  clumps  of  tropical  vegetation.  It  had  no 
pavements,  and,  standing  on  a  slope  of  ground,  the 
sandy  thoroughfare  was  torn  by  the  rain  into  gullies 
impassable  except  by  taking  long  leaps.  Numerous 
springs  issued  from  the  soil  in  every  part  of  the  city, 
and  formed  streams  or  stagnated  into  pools,  where 
every  species  of  filth  became  deposited.  Francia  de- 
termined on  having  it  remodeled,  paved  and  straight- 
ened. The  inhabitants  were  ordered  to  pull  down 
their  houses  and  build  them  anew.  The  cost  to  pri- 
vate purses  was  great,  and  caused  infinite  grumbling ; 
but  Assumpcion  is  now  an  improved,  paved  city,  and 
possesses  convenient  thoroughfares. 

Francia's  method  of  dealing  with  his  subjects  is 
well  illustrated  by  the  following  anecdote.  One  after- 
noon a  shoemaker  brought  him  a  couple  of  grenadier's 
belts,  which  he  had  been  ordered  to  make.  The  Dic- 
tator did  not  like  the  work — "  Sentinel ! "  cried  he ; 
and  in  came  the  sentinel,  when  the  subjoined  conver- 
sation took  place. 

Dictator.    Take  this  lazy  whelp  to  the  gallows  over 


172  THE    DICTATOR   FRANCIA. 

the  way,  and  march  him  under  it  half  a  dozen  times. 
Now  (turning  to  the  trembling  shoemaker)  bring  me 
such  another  pair  of  belts,  and  instead  of  walking 
under  the  gallows,  we  shall  try  how  you  can  swing 
upon  it. 

Shoemaker.  Please  your  Excellency,  I  have  done 
my  best. 

Dictator.  Well,  lazybones,  if  this  be  your  best,  I 
shall  do  my  best  to  see  that  you  never  again  spoil  any 
more  of  the  state's  leather.  The  belts  are  good  for 
nothing  but  to  hang  you  up  on  that  little  machine 
which  the  grenadier  will  show  you. 

Shoemaker.  God  bless  your  Excellency !  The 
Lord  forbid !  I  am  your  vassal,  your  slave.  Day 
and  night  have  I  served  and  will  continue  to  serve 
my  lord.  Only  giver  me  two  more  days  to  prepare 
the  belts,  and,  by  the  soul  of  a  sorrowful  cobbler,  1 
will  make  them  to  your  Excellency's  liking. 

Dictator.    Off  with  him,  sentinel ! 

Sentinel.    March,  lazybones  ! 

Shoemaker.  Most  excellent  sir,  this  very  night  1 
will  make  the  belts  according  to  your  Excellency's 
pattern. 

Dictator.  Well,  I  will  give  you  till  morning ;  but 
you  must  pass  under  the  gallows  ;  it  is  a  salutary 
process,  and  may  at  once  quicken  the  work  and  im- 
prove the  workmanship. 

Sentinel.  March,  you  lazy  dog !  the  Supreme  com- 
mands it. 

The  poor  cobbler  was  marched  off,  and,  after  being 
compelled  to  take  half  a  dozen  turns  under  the  gibbet, 
he  fell  to  work  with  all  his  might.  On  the  following 


THE    DICTATOR   FRANCIA.  173 

morning1,  he  had  produced  a  pair  of  belts  without  a 
parallel  in  South  America ;  and  he  is  now,  if  still  alive, 
belt-maker  general  of  Paraguay,  a  most  thriving  and 
driving  man,  who  must  thank  the  gallows  for  putting 
him  at  the  top  of  his  profession. 

The  stern  temper  and  arbitrary  political  system  of 
Francia  led  him  to  acts  which  could  not  fail  of  being 
denounced  as  the  wanton  excesses  of  a  sanguinary 
disposition.  He  put  to  death  upwards  of  forty  per- 
sons, as  we  are  assured  by  a  traveller,  who  utters  the 
bitterest  denunciations  against  him.  He  had  frightful 
prisons,  and  banished  disorderly  persons  to  a  desolate 
spot  in  the  wilderness.  How  far  his  executions  were 
wanton  and  unjustifiable,  we  have  not  sufficient  means 
of  judging.  In  the  early  part  of  his  career,  a  plot 
was  formed  for  the  purpose  of  taking  his  life ;  it  was 
discovered,  and  executions  followed ;  after  this  we  hear 
nothing  more  of  these  sanguinary  deeds.  His  enemy, 
the  bandit  chieftain  Artigas,  had  done  a  great  deal  of 
injury  to  Paraguay,  and  had  incensed  him  further  by 
fomenting  revolts  among  his  Indians.  Yet,  when  one 
of  this  chieftain's  lieutenants  rebelled  against  him,  and 
forced  him  to  retreat  with  the  wreck  of  his  army, 
Artigas  threw  himself  on  the  mercy  of  the  Dictator, 
and  was  treated  with  clemency.  He  suffered  him  to 
reside  in  Paraguay,  assigned  him  a  house  and  lands, 
with  a  pension,  and  ordered  the  governor  of  the 
district  to  furnish  him  besides  with  whatever  accom- 
modations he  desired,  and  to  treat  him  with  respect. 

The  Dictator's  treatment  of  the  foreigners  who 
found  their  way  into  his  dominions,  was  most  rig- 
orous and  unjust,  and  has  contributed  more  than  any 
15* 


174  THE    DICTATOR   FRANCIA. 

other  cause  to  blacken  his  character  among  strangers. 
Paraguay  was  a  sort  of  mousetrap,  easy  enough  to 
get  into,  but  very  difficult  to  get  out  of.  M.  Bonpland, 
the  fellow-traveller  of  Humboldt,  and  two  Swiss 
naturalists,  wandering  into  Francia's  domains,  were 
detained  there  many  years.  Sometimes,  by  special 
permission,  an  individual  was  allowed  to  leave  the 
country,  but  these  instances  were  rare.  The  for- 
eigners detained  were  informed  that  they  might  pur- 
sue what  avocations  they  pleased,  provided  they  did 
not  interfere  with  the  government. 

The  father  of  Francia  was  a  man  of  very  eccentric 
habits ;  his  brothers  and  one  of  his  sisters  were 
lunatics,  and  the  Dictator  himself  was  subject  to  fits 
of  hypochondria,  which  seem  occasionally  to  have 
affected  his  intellect.  When  under  such  influence,  he 
would  shut  himself  up  for  several  days.  On  one  of 
these  occasions,  being  offended  at  the  idle  crowds  gaz- 
ing about  the  government  house,  he  gave  the  follow- 
ing order  to  a  sentinel.  "  If  any  person  presumes  to 
stop  and  stare  at  my  house,  fire  at  him.  If  you  miss 
him,  this  is  for  a  second  shot,  (handing  him  another 
musket  loaded  with  ball.)  If  you  miss  again,  I  shall 
take  care  not  to  miss  you !  "  This  order  being  quickly 
made  known  throughout  the  city,  the  inhabitants  care- 
fully avoided  passing  near  the  house,  or,  if  their  busi- 
ness led  them  that  way,  they  hurried  on  with  their 
eyes  fixed  on  the  ground.  After  some  weeks,  an 
Indian,  who  knew  nothing  of  the  Spanish  language, 
stopped  to  gaze  at  the  house,  and  was  ordered  to  move 
on,  but  still  continued  to  loiter.  The  sentinel  fired, 
and  missed  him.  Francia,  hearing  the  report,  was 


THE    DICTATOR   FRANCIA.  175 

alarmed,  and  summoned  the  sentinel.  "  What  news, 
friend  ? "  On  being  told  the  cause,  he  declared  that 
he  did  not  recollect  having  given  such  an  order,  and 
immediately  revoked  it. 

The  domestic  establishment  of  the  Dictator  of  Para- 
guay consisted  3f  four  slaves,  three  of  them  mulattoes 
and  the  fourth  a  negro,  whom  he  treated  with  great 
mildness.  He  led  a  very  regular  life,  and  commonly 
rose  with  the  sun.  As  soon  as  he  was  dressed, 
the  negro  bought  him  a  chafing-dish,  a  kettle,  and 
a  pitcher  of  water.  The  Dictator  made  his  own 
tea,  and  after  drinking  it,  he  took  a  walk  under  the 
colonnade  fronting  upon  the  court,  smoking  a  cigar, 
which  he  always  took  care  previously  to  unroll,  in 
order  to  ascertain  that  it  contained  no  poison ;  although 
his  cigars  were  always  made  by  his  sister.  At  six 
o'clock  came  the  barber,  an  unwashed,  ragged  mulatto, 
given  to  drink,  but  the  Dictator's  only  confidential 
menial.  If  his  excellency  happened  to  be  in  good 
humor,  he  chatted  over  the  soapdish,  and  the  shaver 
was  often  intrusted  withj  important  commissions  in 
preparing  the  public  for  the  Dictator's  projects ;  so 
that  he  might  be  said  to  be  the  official  gazette  of 
Paraguay.  He  then  stepped  out,  in  his  dressing 
gown  of  printed  calico,  to  the  outer  colonnade,  an 
open  space  which  ranged  all  round  the  building ;  here 
he  walked  about,  receiving,  at  the  same  time,  such 
persons  as  he  admitted  to  an  audience.  About  seven, 
he  withdrew  to  his  room,  where  he  remained  till  nine. 
The  officers  then  came  to  make  their  reports  and 
receive  orders.  At  eleven,  his  chief  secretary  brought 
the  papers  which  required  inspection  by  him,  and 


176  THE    DICTATOR    FRANCIA. 

wrote  from  his  dictation  till  noon.  He  then  sat  down 
to  table  and  ate  a  frugal  dinner.  After  this  he 
took  a  siesta,  drank  a  cup  of  mate,  and  smoked  a 
eigar.  Till  four  or  five  in  the  afternoon,  he  again 
attended  to  business ;  the  escort  then  arrived  to  attend 
him,  and  he  rode  out  to  inspect  the  public  works. 
"While  on  this  duty,  he  was  armed  with  a  sabre  and  a 
pair  of  double-barrelled  pocket-pistols.  He  returned 
home  about  nightfall,  and  sat  down  to  study  till  nine, 
when  he  took  his  supper,  consisting  of  a  roast  pigeon 
and  a  glass  of  wine.  In  fine  weather,  he  took  an 
evening  walk  in  the  outer  colonnade.  At  ten,  he 
gave  the  watchword,  and  returning  into  the  house,  he 
fastened  all  the  doors  with  his  own  hands. 

Though  possessing  unlimited  sway  over  the  finan- 
ces of  the  state,  he  made  no  attempt  to  enrich  himself, 
and  his  small  salary  was  always  in  arrears  to  him. 
His  two  nephews,  who  were  officers  in  the  army,  were 
dismissed,  lest  they  should  presume  upon  their  rela- 
tionship. He  banished  his  sister  from  his  house 
because  she  had  employed  a  grenadier,  one  of  the 
soldiers  of  the  state,  on  some  errand  of  her  own.  He 
was  a  devoted  admirer  of  Napoleon,  whose  downfall 
he  always  deplored.  The  Swiss  traveller,  Rengger, 
who,  after  a  long  detention,  was  permitted  to  depart, 
left  behind  him  a  print  of  the  French  emperor. 
Francia  sent  an  express  after  him,  inquiring  the  price 
of  it.  Rengger  sent  him  for  answer,  that  the  print 
was  at  his  excellency's  service — he  did  not  sell  such 
trifles.  The  Dictator  immediately  despatched  the 
print  after  him ;  he  would  receive  no  gifts.  There 
seems  to  have  existed  originally  in  him  somewhat  of 


THE    DICTATOR   'fRANCIA.  177 

that  simple  and  severe  virtue,  which  is  more  charac- 
teristic of  a  stern  republican  than  of  a  sanguinary 
tyrant.  He  has  left  one  witticism  upon  record,  which 
we  will  subjoin,  as  it  is  much  in  character.  Rengger, 
who  was  a  surgeon,  was  about  to  dissect  a  body. 
"  Doctor,"  said  the  Dictator,  "  examine  the  neck,  and 
see  whether  the  Paraguayans  have  not  an  extra  bone 
there,  which  hinders  them  from  holding  up  their 
heads  and  speaking  out." 

In  the  accounts  which  were  written  of  this  extra- 
ordinary man  during  his  lifetime,  he  has  been  repre- 
sented as  an  arbitrary  and  cruel  oppressor,  universally 
detested,  and  whose  death,  inasmuch  as  he  had  made 
no  provision  for  the  continuance  of  the  government, 
would  plunge  the  state  into  anarchy  and  ruin.  Both 
these  representations  have  been  completely  falsified 
by  the  event.  Francia  died  peaceably,  on  the  20th 
day  of  September,  1840,  aged  eighty-three ;  the  people 
crowding  round  his  house  with  much  emotion,  and 
even,  as  we  are  assured,  with  tears  of  anxiety  and 
sympathy.  The  funeral  discourse  pronounced  on  the 
occasion,  surprised  the  world;  it  was  rilled  with 
praises  of  the  deceased  Dictator,  whom  it  represented 
as  the  real  father  of  his  country. 

Enough  is  known  of  Dr.  Francia  to  assure  us  that 
he  was  a  most  remarkable  individual ;  but  it  would  be 
both  difficult  and  unsafe  to  draw  his  character  with 
confidence  and  minuteness,  from  the  meagre  and  ques- 
tionable materials  which  we  possess  respecting  him. 
That  he  was  a  man  of  iron  integrity  in  a  country 
where  corruption  and  venality  were  almost  matters 
of  course  with  public  men ;  that  he  spent  thirty  years 


178  THE    DICTATOR   FRANCIA. 

of  his  life  in  toilsome  devotion  to  his  country ;  that 
he  was  above  the  vulgar  love  of  money,  and  dis- 
dained to  take  advantage  of  his  unlimited  power  for 
enriching  himself, — are  all  incontrovertible  facts ;  that 
his  government  was  also,  on  the  whole,  advantageous 
to  his  country,  is  not  to  be  denied.  But  what  were  the 
motives  which  guided  his  conduct  ?  Was  it  patriot- 
ism, or  a  simple  love  of  power  ?  Why  adopt  so 
strange  a  system  of  policy — that  of  interdicting  all 
intercourse  with  other  nations  ?  Was  it  from  a  con- 
viction that  this  was  best  adapted  to  the  condition  of 
the  people,  or  that  it  was  indispensable  to  the  preser- 
vation of  his  despotic  sway  ?  Why  enshroud  himself 
in  such  mysterious  isolation,  holding  as  little  com- 
merce of  affection  and  sympathy  with  his  fellow-men 
as  of  trade  with  foreign  nations  ?  These  are  ques- 
tions which  we  cannot  easily  answer.  If  we  may 
rely  upon  the  scattered  glimpses  of  his  career  that 
have  been  presented  to  us,  we  should  venture  to  decide 
that  the  main  elements  of  his  character  consisted  of 
stern  integrity  and  devoted  patriotism  ;  blended,  how- 
ever, with  natural  sternness  of  temper,  a  love  of 
power,  and  a  conviction  that  a  despotic  government 
was  best  suited  to  the  condition  of  the  people.  His 
singular  habits  were  probably  the  result  of  native  ec- 
centricity; his  exclusive  policy  was  doubtless  adopted 
for  the  double  motive  of  perpetuating  his  authority, 
and  ensuring  tranquillity  to  the  country.  Of  the  vigor 
of  his  mind  and  energy  of  his  character,  there  can  be 
no  doubt.  That  he  should  have  created  and  sustained, 
for  thirty  years,  the  sternest  despotism  that  the  world 
ever  witnessed,  in  the  heart  of  a  continent  where 


THE    DICTATOR   FRANCIA.  179 

everything  besides  was  tending  to  the  dissolution  of 
tyrannical  power  and  the  establishment  of  popular 
institutions,  is  a  phenomenon  that  may  well  excite 
the  curiosity  and  astonishment  of  the  world.  We 
may  indeed  suppose  that  his  government  was  mod- 
elled after  that  of  the  Jesuits,  the  effects  of  which 
were  still  visible  in  his  time ;  but  that  he  should  have 
been  able  to  assume  to  himself,  and  exercise  for  so 
long  a  period,  the  unlimited  power  wielded  by  these 
sagacious  priests,  must  still  excite  our  surprise.  If 
we  suppose  that  his  interdiction  of  intercourse  with 
other  nations,  was  designed  as  a  means  of  keeping 
his  people  from  the  infection  of  those  new  political 
notions  which  were  teeming  around  him,  we  must 
still  admire  the  energy  and  success  with  which  this 
feature  of  his  policy  was  maintained. 


TOUSSAINT  L'OTTVERTUEE. 


TOUSSAINT  L'OUVERTURE. 

HISPANIOLA,  or  St.  Domingo,  was  at  one  period  the 
most  fertile  and  valuable  of  all  the  West  India  Islands. 
In  the  richness  and  variety  of  its  productions,  and  its 
local  beauties,  it  surpassed  every  island  in  the  western 
hemisphere.  Its  plains  and  valleys  presented  the  most 
inviting  scenes  of  rich  and  perpetual  verdure.  The 
extreme  salubrity  of  the  climate,  and  the  abundance 
of  its  delicious  fruits,  rendered  it  one  of  the  most  de- 
lightful abodes  in  the  world.  Divided  between  France 
and  Spain,  it  was  a  source  of  great  revenue  to  both  of 
those  powers,  from  the  flourishing  commerce  carried 
on  in  the  exportation  of  the  numerous  products  of  its 
luxuriant  and  well-cultivated  soil.  The  French  divi- 
sion, although  comprising  less  than  a  third  part  of  the 
island,  was  considered  the  most  valuable  spot  of  its 
dimensions  in  the  western  world.  The  exports  to 
France  of  sugar,  coffee,  cotton,  indigo,  cocoa,  and 
other  articles,  exceeded  thirty  millions  of  dollars 
annually. 

When  the  French  revolution  broke  out,  the  plant- 
ers of  St.  Domingo  did  not  look  on  in  silence ;  and 
the  National  Assembly,  in  requiring  a  more  equal 
representation  of  the  people,  tacitly  acknowledged  that 
the  colonies  ought  to  have  a  voice  in  the  legislature. 
The  colonists,  perceiving  this,  determined  to  seize  the 
advantages  which  it  offered.  They  selected  their 
vii.— 16 


182  TOTJSSAINT  L'OUVEBTUKE. 

deputies,  formed  their  colonial  assemblies,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  establish  a  new  constitution  for  the  internal 
government  of  the  island.  This  constitution,  when 
published,  sufficiently  showed  that  nothing  short  of 
their  independence  of  the  mother  country  was  the 
object  at  which  they  remotely  aimed.  Among  the 
motives  which  led  them  to  form  this  resolution,  was 
the  decree  of  the  National  Assembly,  which  declared 
that  "all  men  are  born  free  and  equal  as  to  their 
rights."  This  declaration  they  interpreted  as  tacitly 
recommending  the  emancipation  of  their  slaves.  The 
island  was  soon  distracted  by  commotions;  the  roy- 
alists and  revolutionists  were  arrayed  against  each 
other  in  all  the  heat  of  faction;  violent  measures 
were  pursued  by  both  parties,  and  the  utmost  ferment 
prevailed  throughout  the  colony,  in  which  all  classes, 
the  slaves  not  excepted,  took'  an  active  interest. 

A  society  had  been  formed  in  France,  called  the 
Amis  des  Noirs,  composed  partly  of  men  who  after- 
wards became  leaders  in  the  revolution,  and  partly  of 
mulattoes,  resident  in  Paris.  Their  avowed  object 
was  to  procure  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves ;  but 
their  measures  for  its  accomplishment  were  violent 
and  injudicious.  They  demanded  immediate  emanci- 
pation ;  forgetting,  in  the  heat  of  their  zeal,  that  the 
negroes  were  unfit  at  that  period  to  value  and  improve 
the  advantages  of  freedom.  They  were  equally  rash 
in  the  methods  by  which  they  made  their  designs 
known  to  the  slaves.  Inflammatory  addresses  were 
dispersed  among  them,  and  various  other  arts  were 
practised  to  induce  them  to  rise  against  their  masters. 
The  colonists,  at  the  same  time,  acted  with  equal 


TOUSSAINT  L'OUVERTURE.  183 

indiscrelion.  They  took  no  measures  to  quiet  the 
murmurs  of  their  slaves,  and  would  listen  to  none  of 
their  demands,  however  reasonable.  The  slaves,  find- 
ing that,  notwithstanding  the  decrees  of  the  National 
Assembly,  their  privileges  were  still  withheld,  deter- 
mined to  secure  them  by  force  of  arms.  Accommo- 
dation soon  became  impossible ;  the  French  would 
offer  no  terms,  and  shut  their  eyes  to  the  tremendous 
dangers  that  were  impending  over  them.  The  slaves 
rose  in  insurrection,  and  St.  Domingo  became  the 
scene  of  as  fearful  ravages  as  the  world  has  ever  wit- 
nessed. Conflagration,  pillage,  and  massacre  spread 
over  the  island,  and  the  mind  recoils  in  horror  from 
the  details  of  this  fearful  period. 

Toussaint  L'Ouverture,  who  distinguished  himself 
early  in  this  war,  and  subsequently  became  the  leader 
of  the  blacks,  was  one  of  the  most  extraordinary 
characters  of  modern  times,  and  exhibited  proofs  of 
genius  and  elevation  of  character  which  give  him  a 
high  rank  in  the  annals  of  great  men.  He  was  born 
a  slave,  of  African  parents,  at  Breda,  near  Cape  Fran- 
§ois,  in  1743.  After  he  became  the  chief  man  in  the 
island,  one  of  his  flatterers  compiled  a  genealogy, 
declaring  his  descent  from  an  African  king.  We  do 
not  know  this  to  be  false,  but,  although  Toussaint  was 
willing  to  have  it  believed,  it  is,  probably,  without 
foundation.  In  his  youth,  he  was  employed  as  a  cat- 
tle-driver on  the  estate  of  the  Count  de  Noe,  to  whom 
he  belonged ;  he  was  taught  reading  and  writing  by 
another  negro.  In  due  time,  he  rose  to  the  dignity 
of  coachman  to  the  manager  of  the  estate ;  and  when 


184  TOUSSAINT  L'OUVEETURE. 

the  revolution  broke  out,  he  held  the  office  of  over- 
seer, and  possessed  the  confidence  of  his  owner. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  struggle,  many  of  the 
slaves  adhered  to  the  cause  of  their  masters.  Tous- 
saint  was  one  of  these.  From  the  beginning  of  the 
massacres  of  1791,  to  the  appearance  of  the  procla- 
mation of  the  4th  of  February,  1794,  which  declared 
all  slaves  free,  he  continued  loyal,  and  made  himself 
conspicuous  by  his  zeal  for  the  Catholic  religion  and 
royalty.  At  first  he  bore  the  title  of  "  Physician  of 
the  Royal  Armies,"  though  we  are  not  told  what 
knowledge  of  medicine  he  possessed.  He  then  be- 
came aid-de-camp  to  the  negro  leader,  Jean  Francois. 
His  influence  with  the  negroes  increased,  and  the 
Spanish  president,  Garcia,  honored  him  with  his  full 
confidence.  When  the  negroes  rejected  the  first 
overtures  of  the  French  commissioners,  Toussaint 
assigned  as  a  reason,  that  they  had  always  been  gov- 
erned by  a  king ;  could  be  governed  only  by  a  king ; 
and  having  lost  the  king  of  France,  had  betaken  them- 
selves to  the  protection  of  the  king  of  Spain.  But 
the  proclamation  of  the  French,  emancipating  the 
slaves,  opened  new  views  to  him,  and  he  negotiated 
with  their  general  for  a  return  to  his  old  associates. 
Being  promised  a  commission  of  brigadier-general, 
he  went  over  to  the  French.  His  abandonment  of 
the  Spaniards  caused  the  surrender  of  many  of  their 
most  important  posts. 

Laveaux,  the  French  governor,  treated  Toussaint, 
at  first,  with  reserve  and  coolness,  which  compelled 
him  to  withdraw  into  retirement.  He  was  now  past 
his  fiftieth  year,  and  looked  upon  his  days  of  activity 


TOUSSAINT  L'OUVERTURE.  185 

and  his  public  career  as  ended.  But  in  1795,  he  was 
suddenly  called  forth  by  a  conspiracy  of  the  mulattoes, 
who  arrested  and  imprisoned  the  governor  at  Cape 
Francois.  Toussaint  raised  an  army  of  negroes,  and 
being  supported  by  the  partisans  of  the  French,  found 
himself  at  the  head  of  ten  thousand  men.  With  this 
force,  he  marched  to  the  capital  and  set  the  governor 
at  liberty.  Laveaux,  in  his  gratitude  for  this  deed, 
proclaimed  his  deliverer  the  protector  of  the  whites, 
the  avenger  of  the  constituted  authorities,  and  the 
"  black  Spartacus,"  who,  according  to  the  prediction 
of  the  Abbe  Raynal,  was  destined  to  arise  and  avenge 
his  race.  Toussaint's  importance  now  rapidly  aug- 
mented. He  was  made  a  general  of  division,  and  his 
influence  was  so  predominant,  that  he  was,  in  fact, 
the  supreme  arbiter  of  the  fortunes  of  the  colony. 
He  reduced  the  whole  north  of  the  island,  with  a  tri- 
fling exception,  to  the  dominion  of  the  French,  and 
was  the  first  that  succeeded  in  establishing  discipline 
among  the  armed  negroes. 

He  was  now  commander-in-chief  of  the  armies  of 
St.  Domingo.  The  island  appeared  to  be  firmly  re- 
established under  the  French  government,  but  the 
distrust  of  their  commissioner,  Hedouville,  caused 
a  renewal  of  the  troubles.  He  attempted  to  thwart 
all  the  plans  of  Toussaint  for  the  welfare  of  the  col- 
ony. The  latter  persuaded  the  negroes  to  return  to 
their  agricultural  labors,  and  thought  it  advisable  that 
they  should  work  five  years  for  their  former  masters, 
reserving  one  fourth  of  their  earnings,  before  they 
assumed  the  full  extent  of  their  freedom.  At  length, 
Hedouville,  who  had  become  odious  to  the  inhabitants, 
16* 


186  TOUSSAINT  L'OUVERTUKE. 

from  his  supposed  hostility  to  the  interests  of  the  col- 
ony, was  dismayed  by  an  insurrection  at  Cape  Fran- 
§ois,  and  fled,  with  all  his  adherents,  comprising  twelve 
or  fifteen  hundred  men,  to  France.  A  strong  ani- 
mosity had  subsisted  from  the  beginning  between  the 
blacks  and  the  mulattoes.  The  departure  of  the  com- 
missioner caused  this  feud  to  break  out  again  in  all 
its  violence.  Rigaud,  the  mulatto  chief,  led  his  fero- 
cious partisans  on  to  rapine  and  massacre.  Toussaint 
used  his  utmost  exertions  to  check  the  sanguinary 
deeds  of  his  own  men ;  and  he  carried  on  the  war 
with  such  success,  that  he  captured  all  the  strong-holds 
of  the  mulattoes  except  Aux  Cayes,  where  he  besieged 
Rigaud,  in  1799,  and  finally  compelled  him  to  aban- 
don the  island. 

In  the  mean  time,  Bonaparte  had  become  First  Con- 
sul of  France,  and  one  of  his  first  measures  was  to 
send  a  deputation  to  St.  Domingo,  who  informed 
Toussaint  that  he  was  confirmed  in  his  authority. 
This  chief  was  now  at  the  summit  of  his  prosperity. 
Early  in  1801,  he  subdued  the  whole  Spanish  por- 
tion of  the  island,  and  planned  a  scheme  of  a  colonial 
constitution,  in  which  he  was  appointed  governor  for 
life,  with  power  to  name  his  successor  and  appoint 
all  the  officers  under  the  government.  He  exercised 
this  authority  to  the  full  extent.  He  quelled  an  in- 
surrection of  the  negroes,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  pun- 
ish with  death  his  own  nephew,  who  had  placed 
himself  at  the  head  of  it.  Under  his  strict  but  equi- 
table sway,  the  agriculture  and  commerce  of  St.  Do- 
mingo were  soon  in  a  flourishing  state.  Slavery  was 
abolished,  and  the  blacks  were  placed  on  an  equality 


TOUSSAINT  L'OUVERTURE.  187 

with  the  whites.  Many  of  the  plantations  remained 
in  the  hands  of  the  original  proprietors.  The  negroes 
gave  every  proof  of  industry,  subordination  and  con- 
tent. They  diligently  cultivated  the  plantations,  and 
received  the  wages  of  their  labor.  They  submitted 
cheerfully  to  all  those  regulations  which  it  was  thought 
necessary  to  establish,  and,  living  in  possession  of  their 
freedom,  seemed  perfectly  happy. 

Toussaint,  whose  ability,  integrity,  and  mildness 
had  established  this  favorable  order  of  things,  assumed 
a  good  deal  of  state,  and  affected  to  cast  a  shade  of 
mystery  around  the  circumstances  of  his  early  life. 
He  took  pride  in  proclaiming  himself  the  negro  de- 
liverer foretold  by  Raynal.  He  observed  great  sim- 
plicity in  respect  to  his  own  person,  but  surrounded 
himself  with  a  brilliant  staff.  His  popularity  was 
unbounded,  and  he  appears  to  have  been  as  solicitous 
for  the  maintenance  of  the  French  interest  as  for  any 
part  of  his  scheme  of  government.  The  colony  had 
seldom  been  more  productive,  or  the  revenue  which 
it  afforded  to  the  mother  country  more  abundant. 
The  island  seemed  to  enjoy  a  fair  prospect  of  advanc- 
ing in  prosperity ;  the  inhabitants  were  improving  in 
the  arts  of  peace  and  civilization ;  the  produce  of  the 
soil  was  yielding  increased  wealth  both  to  the  pro- 
prietors and  the  cultivators ;  and  the  distinctions  of 
color,  and  the  prejudices  founded  on  them,  might  at 
last  have  been  forgotten,  had  not  the  restless  ambition 
of  the  ruler  of  France,  and  the  foolish  discontent  of 
the  ex-colonists,  disturbed  the  tranquillity  of  the  island, 
and  suddenly  brought  back  the  troubles  which  had 
been  so  happily  quieted. 


188  TOTTSSAINT   L'oUVERTURE. 

The  conduct  of  Bonaparte  towards  Toussaint  had 
now  become  such  as  to  cause  serious  anxiety  in  the 
mind  of  the  latter.  He  had  sent  two  of  his  children 
to  France  to  receive  their  education,  but  the  First 
Consul  preserved  an  ominous  silence  towards  all  his 
overtures  for-frieAdship.  After  the  treaty  of  Amiens, 
Bonaparte  issued  a  proclamation,  announcing  that 
slavery  was  to  continue  in  Martinique  and  Cayenne, 
and  that  St.  Domingo  was  to  be  "  restored  to  order." 
This  caused  a  well-grounded  alarm,  and  Toussaint 
met  it  by  a  counter  proclamation,  on  the  18th  of  De- 
cember, 1801,  in  which  he  professed  obedience  to  the 
French  Republic,  but  at  the  same  time  appealed  to  the 
soldiery  in  language  which  left  no  doubt  of  his  deter- 
mination to  take  up  arms  in  case  any  attempt  should 
be  made  to  take  away  the  civil  right  as  recognized  by 
the  existing  governments.  The  policy  of  Napoleon 
appears  to  be  thus  explained.  Wanting  employment 
for  his  armies  during  the  truce  of  Amiens,  and  insti- 
gated by  the  fugitive  colonists  who  had  been  expelled 
at  the  beginning  of  the  revolution,  and  who  were 
anxiously  longing  for  their  lost  possessions,  he  deter- 
mined on  subjugating  the  island  by  force,  re-estab- 
lishing slavery,  and  re-instating  the  ex-colonists  in 
their  original  possessions.  He  despatched  a  fleet  of 
fifty-four  sail,  Avith  an  army  of  twenty-five  thousand 
men,  under  his  brother-in-law.  General  Leclerc,  to 
effect  this  purpose. 

The  expedition  reached  St.  Domingo  in  January, 
1802.  Toussaint  was  filled  with  apprehensions  at  the 
sight  of  this  formidable  force,  and  his  followers  were 
intimidated  and  divided.  Leclerc  brought  with  him 


TOUSSAINT  L'OUVERTURE.  189 

a  proclamation  of  the  First  Consul,  couched  in  his 
usual  ambiguous  style,  and  intended,  no  doubt,  to 
deceive  the  colored  population,  by  seeming  to  confirm 
their  rights  as  freemen,  while  the  real  object  of  the 
expedition  was  to  reduce  them  to  slavery.  This 
proclamation  was  received  among  the  wavering  as 
one  of  perfect  sincerity,  and  their  apprehensions  were 
quieted.  Many  of  them,  in  consequence,  went  over 
to  the  French.  But  Toussaint  was  not  to  be  deceived. 
His  two  sons  had  been  brought  out  by  Leclerc,  to  be 
held  as  hostages  in  his  hands,  and  as  such  to  check 
any  opposition  which  their  father  might  be  disposed 
to  make  to  the  measures  of  the  French.  Leclerc 
attempted  to  inveigle  him  by  means  of  an  interview 
with  his  sons,  in  the  course  of  which  every  appeal 
was  made  to  his  paternal  feelings  to  induce  him  to 
submit  to  the  invaders ;  but  Toussaint  resisted  this 
attempt  with  the  stern  inflexibility  of  a  Roman. 
"  Take  back  my  children,"  said  he  ;  "  since  it  must  be 
so,  I  will  be  faithful  to  my  brethren  and  my  God." 

War  now  commenced  between  the  French  and  the 
natives,  who,  under  the  conduct  of  Toussaint,  Chris- 
tophe  and  Dessaline.s,  carried  on  their  enterprises  with 
various  success.  Leclerc,  in  February,  1802,  pro- 
claimed Toussaint  an  outlaw,  and  the  blacks  sustained 
serious  reverses.  Toussaint,  however,  continued  to 
defend  himself,  and  laid  the  country  waste  around 
him,  to  obstruct  the  approach  of  the  enemy.  At  last, 
the  defection  of  Christophe  and  Dessalines  obliged 
him  to  listen  to  terms,  and  his  sentence  of  outlawry 
was  reversed.  But,  on  placing  himself  in  the  power 
of  the  French,  he  was  treacherously  arrested  and  sent 


190  TOUSSAINT  L'OUVERTURE. 

to  France,  where  he  was  at  first  lodged  in  the  prison 
of  the  Temple  at  Paris,  and  afterwards  in  the  castle  of 
Joux,  near  Besan^on,  where  he  was  subjected  to  a 
rigorous  confinement,  which,  as  was  probably  foreseen 
and  intended,  speedily  terminated  his  existence.  He 
died  on  the  27th  of  April,  1803.  His  family  were 
confined  at  Brienne  en  Agen,  where  one  of  his  sons 
died ;  and  the  survivors  were  not  set  at  liberty  till  the 
restoration  of  the  Bourbons. 

The  perfidy  and  cruelty  exercised  toward  Toussaint 
L'Ouverture,  was  one  of  the  blackest  deeds  of  Napo- 
leon's reign.  He  did  not  fail  to  reflect  upon  it  during 
his  imprisonment  at  St.  Helena.  "  I  have  to  reproach 
myself,"  said  he,  "  for  the  expedition  to  St.  Domingo. 
It  was  a  great  fault  to  try  to  subject  the  island  by 
force.  I  ought  to  have  been  content  with  the  inter- 
mediate government  of  Toussaint.  Peace  was  not 
then  sufficiently  established  with  England ;  and  the 
territorial  wealth  to  which  I  looked  in  trying  to  sub- 
ject it,  would  only  have  enriched  our  enemies.  It 
was  undertaken  against  my  opinion,  in  conformity  to 
the  wishes  of  the  council  of  state,  who  were  carried 
away  by  the  cries  of  the  colonists." 

Toussaint,  from  the  united  testimony  of  his  friends 
and  enemies,  deserves  to  be  classed  among  great  men. 
His  plans  were  devised  with  great  skill,  and  produced 
the  happiest  results.  His  agricultural  improvements 
excited  the  surprise  and  astonishment  of  all  those  who 
had  an  opportunity  to  observe  them.  He  sought  to 
replenish  the  wasted  population  by  every  possible 
means.  He  held  out  to  those  who  had  emigrated 
during  the  contest,  every  encouragement  to  return, 


TOUSSAINT  L'OUVERTURE.  191 

pledging  himself  to  re-instate  them  in  their  property, 
and  assuring  them  that  their  agricultural  undertakings 
should  receive  all  the  support  which  it  was  possible 
for  him  to  afford.  This  had  a  most  beneficial  effect, 
and  many  returned,  and  brought  with  them  the  slaves 
who  had  accompanied  them  in  their  flight,  but  who, 
of  course,  became  free  on  their  arrival.  His  reserved 
and  yet  energetic  character  commanded  the  respect 
of  the  negroes,  enabled  him  to  restrain  them  from 
excesses,  and  keep  them  steady  to  labor;  he  thus 
restored  confidence  to  the  whites.  He  had  strong 
devotional  feelings,  and  a  nice  sense  of  domestic 
morality.  Under  these  influences,  he  made  constant 
efforts  to  suppress  licentiousness  of  manners  by  pro- 
moting marriage  throughout  the  colony.  He  was 
aware  of  the  evil  effects  of  the  system  of  polygamy 
which  prevailed  among  his  brethren,  and  his  endeav- 
ors to  abolish  it  resulted  not  only  in  an  improved  state 
of  morals,  but  in  an  increased  population.  Toussaint 
was  sometimes  harsh  in  his  judgments,  and  rigid  in 
exacting  obedience  to  his  authority,  but  he  was  always 
grateful,  and  never  left  an  obligation  unrequited.  If 
there  was  one  trait  in  his  character  more  conspicuous 
than  the  rest,  it  was  his  unsullied  integrity.  That  he 
never  violated  his  faith,  was  a  proverbial  expression 
in  the  mouths  of  the  white  inhabitants  of  the  island, 
and  of  the  English  officers  who  were  employed  in 
hostilities  against  him.  Upon  a  fair  vdew  of  his  life, 
if  we  consider  the  nature  of  his  early  training,  his 
defective  education,  and  the  oppressive  influences 
which  surrounded  him,  we  cannot  but  look  with  admi- 
ration upon  his  career.  Possessing  force  and  eleva- 


192 


TOUSSAINT  L'OUVERTUEE. 


tion  of  character  which  triumphed  over  all  obstacles, 
he  became  an  able  general,  a  wise  statesman,  a  sound 
patriot,  a  great  and  good  man,  an  honor  not  merely 
to  "  the  African  race,"  but  to  human  nature. 


LA  SALLE  AND  HENNEPIN. 

THE  French  were  early  competitors  of  the  English 
in  making  discoveries  in  the  western  world.  While 
the  latter  were  founding  along  the  coast  the  most 
flourishing  and  prosperous  colonies  in  North  America, 
their  rivals  were  actively  pursuing  a  different  career. 
They  were  penetrating  into  the  interior  of  the  conti- 
nent, ascending  and  descending  those  mighty  rivers, 
and  coasting  along  the  shores  of  those  vast  lakes, 
which  seem  to  convey  to  the  most  inland  depths  of 
North  America  the  character  and  benefits  of  a  mari- 
time region.  The  leaders  of  the  French  expeditions, 
both  political  and  religious,  displayed  great  enterprise 
and  address,  and  effected  extensive  discoveries  with 
much  less  disaster  than  might  have  been  expected  in 
these  novel  undertakings,  beset  with  great  and  singular 
Derils. 

The  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  more  north- 
ern portions  of  the  continent  formed  the  quarter  to 
which  the  French  directed  their  special  attention. 
Considerable  establishments  were  formed  in  Canada 
as  early  as  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and 
they  had  already  penetrated  to  the  great  lakes,  where 
they  learned  from  the  Indian  tribes  who  came  from 
the  boundless  regions  beyond  the  Alleghany  moun- 
tains, that  far  along  the  western  plains  there  rolled  a 
river,  so  mighty  that  even  the  hitherto  unequalled 
M  vii.— 17 


LA    SALLE. 


LA    SALLE    AND   HENNEPIN.  195 

stream  of  the  St.  Lawrence  could  not  be  compared 
with  it.  They  were  informed  that  this  vast  body  of 
waters  flowed  in  a  direction  different  from  that  of  all 
the  American  streams  yet  discovered,  and  sought 
some  distant  ocean  far  to  the  south  and  west.  In  the 
prevailing  ignorance  as  to  the  boundaries  and  extent 
of  the  continent,  it  was  concluded  that  this  could  only 
be  the  Vermilion  Sea,  a  name  then  given  to  the  gulf 
of  California,  by  which  it  was  hoped  that  the  long- 
sought-for  passage  might  be  found  to  the  golden  re- 
gions of  India. 

M.  Joliet  and  Father  Marquette,  a  Jesuit  mission- 
ary who  had  been  a  long  time  in  Canada,  undertook, 
in  1673,  to  explore  this  great  and  unknown  region. 
The  Indians  warned  them  that  the  most  formidable 
and  supernatural  dangers  would  attend  them  should 
they  embark  upon  this  mighty  river.  Monsters  of  a 
strange  form  and  huge  dimensions  would  open  their 
jaws  and  swallow  as  a  single  morsel  a  canoe  and  all 
its  crew.  If  they  escaped  this  peril,  they  would  come 
to  a  place  where  a  mighty  demon  bestrode  the  stream, 
who  by  a  single  blow  would  strike  into  the  depths  of 
the  waves  any  bark  so  adventurous  as  to  approach 
near  him.  The  French,  however,  disregarded  these 
bugbear  stories,  and  set  out  upon  the  expedition  ;  they 
had  only  two  little  Indian  canoes,  with  three  men  in 
each.  They  proceeded  through  Lakes  Erie  and  Mi- 
chigan to  Green  Bay,  being  well  received  by  the 
natives  along  the  route,  and  from  the  head  of  Fox 
River  crossed  by  a  portage  to  the  Wisconsin,  a  branch 
of  the  Mississippi?  On  this  stream,  they  found  wild 
rice  growing  so  thickly  amid  the  waters  that  they 
appeared  to  be  sailing  among  cornfields. 


196  LA    SALLE    AND   HENNEPIN. 

Their  voyage  down  the  Wisconsin  was  easy  and 
prosperous,  and  they  saw  it,  with  great  exultation, 
opening  into  that  grand  stream,  of  which  they  were 
in  search.  On  the  broad  Mississippi  they  pursued 
their  voyage  for  more  than  two  hundred  miles,  through 
majestic  solitudes  in  which  they  did  not  discover  a 
human  being.  At  length,  they  discovered  the  print 
of  human  feet  upon  the  shore,  and  followed  the  track 
till  they  saw  Indian  villages,  upon  which  they  set  up 
a  loud  shout.  The  natives  came  toward  them,  and 
presented  the  pipe  of  peace.  They  conducted  the 
French  to  the  cabin  of  their  chief,  entertained  them 
with  a  feast,  and  cautioned  them  against  going  fur- 
ther down  the  river.  These  .were  the  Illinois  Indians, 
a  tribe  which  Marquette  considers  the  most  civilized 
of  all  he  had  seen  in  America.  The,  French  took 
leave  of  their  kind  hosts,  and  proceeded  down  the 
Mississippi.  Steep  and  lofty  rocks  rose  along  the 
banks,  one  of  which  had  monsters  painted  in  very 
brilliant  colors  on  its  perpendicular  sides ;  this  was 
probably  the  origin  of  some  of  the  Indian  tales  of  ter- 
ror. Soon  after  this,  they  heard  on  the  right  hand  a 
mighty  roar  of  waters,  and  saw  trees  and  floating 
islands  rushing  down  the  channel.  This  was  the 
mouth  of  the  great  Missouri ;  and  the  current,  which 
was  before  clear  and  gentle,  now  became  rough,  mud- 
dy and  rapid. 

Presently  they  saw,  hovering  in  the  centre  of  .the 
rushing  waters,  the  demon,  of  which  they  had  been  so 
solemnly  forewarned.  This  was  a  range  of  cliffs, 
crossing  nearly  the  whole  stream,  £nd  against  which 
the  waves  dashed  with  great  noise  and  fury.  Great 


LA    SALLE    AND    HENNEPIN.  197 

skill  and  caution  were  required  to  guide  the  canoes 
through  this  dangerous  strait.  After  passing  the 
mouth  of  the  Ohio,  they  suffered  severely  from  mos- 
chetoes,  and  they  were  obliged,  in  imitation  of  the 
natives,  to  build  a  hut  over  their  canoe,  and  kindle  a 
fire  beneath  it,  the  smoke  of  which  drove  away  their 
tormentors.  They  came  to  several  villages,  where 
the  Indians  at  first  assumed  a  hostile  appearance ; 
but  on  presenting  their  calumet  of  peace,  a  friendly 
intercourse  was  always  established.  When  they 
reached  the  Arkansas,  they  were  informed  that  they 
were  within  five  days'  sail  of  the  sea,  on  which  they 
became  convinced  that  the  Mississippi  emptied  into 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  not  into  the  Sea  of  California. 
They  considered  that  by  proceeding  downward,  they 
might  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards,  from  whose 
jealous  enmity  they  might  suffer  death  or  imprison- 
ment ;  they  therefore  returned  to  Canada  by  the  route 
they  had  already  traced. 

A  young  Frenchman  named  La  Salle,  who  hap- 
pened to  be  at  Quebec  when  they  returned,  was  struck 
with  the  accounts  which  they  gave  of  this  vast  river, 
which  seemed  to  afford  a  key  to  the  whole  interior  of 
the  continent.  He  set  sail  for  France,  and  engaged 
a  party  of  thirty  men  to  accompany  him  thither  on  an 
expedition  of  discovery.  Their  preparations  in  Can- 
ada lasted  two  years,  and  after  many  adventures,  La 
Salle  found  himself  on  the  Miami,  with  forty-seven 
companions.  They  ascended  that  stream,  and  sailed 
down  the  Illinois  to  the  Mississippi.  The  banks  of  the 
Illinois  were  beautiful,  fertile,  and  contained  many 
large  Indian  villages.  The  first  they  saw  was  com- 
17* 


198  LA   SALLE   AND   HENNEPIN. 

posed  of  five  hundred  wooden  cabins,  but  the  inhabi 
tants  had  left  it.  In  descending  the  river,  they  found 
themselves  suddenly  between  two  large  bodies  of 
Indians,  encamped  on  the  opposite  banks.  These 
were  the  Illinois,  who,  alarmed  at  the  appearance  of 
the  strangers,  ranged  themselves  in  order  of  battle ; 
as  did  also  the  French.  They  did  not,  however, 
come  to  blows;  the  French  declared  that  they  were 
sent  by  their  king,  to  instruct  the  Indians,  and  do 
them  all  the  good  in  their  power,  on  which  the  calumet 
of  peace  was  offered,  and  a  grand  festival  of  three 
days  followed. 

La  Salle  now  began  to  experience  great  trouble 
from  the  mutinous  spirit  of  his  men.  This,  with  the 
loss  of  his  principal  bark,  caused  him  such  anxiety, 
that  in  building  a  small  fort  to  secure  his  encampment, 
he  gave  it  the  name  of  Creveccsur,  or  Heartbreak. 
His  followers  did  much  to  justify  this  appellation, 
although  they  had  no  sufficient  cause  of  complaint 
against  their  leader.  They  spread  jealousies  among 
the  Indians,  by  representing  him  as  a  spy  of  the 
Iroquois,  their  ancient  enemies.  Not  satisfied  with 
this,  they  attempted  to  poison  him  and  all  his  friends, 
at  a  Christmas  dinner.  The  poison,  however,  did 
not  prove  mortal ;  and  the  villains,  finding  all  their 
schemes  frustrated,  fled  into  the  wilderness. 

By  this  desertion,  La  Salle's  force  was  so  much 
weakened,  that  it  was  necessary  to  return  to  Canada 
for  a  fresh  supply  of  arms  and  ammunition.  Six  of 
his  followers,  among  whom  was  Father  Hennepin, 
were  ordered  to  proceed  to  the  Mississippi,  and  ascend 
that  river  to  its  source.  La  Salle  left  the  remainder 


LA    SALLE    AND   11ENNEPIN.  199 

of  his  men  at  Fort  Crevecoeur ;  but  after  his  departure 
these  soon  became  involved  in  trouble  with  the  In- 
dians, and  were  forced  to  retreat  likewise  to  Canada. 
Even  under  this  accumulation  of  disasters,  La  Salle 
did  not  lose  courage.  He  collected  twenty  men,  with 
the  requisite  provisions  and  stores,  and  set  out  again 
early  the  next  season.  The  rivers  being  frozen,  he 
proceeded  at  first  by  land,  but  at  length  embarked  on 
the  Illinois,  and  sailed  down  to  the  Mississippi.  He 
soon  reached  the  Missouri,  on  which  he  conferred  the 
name  of  the  Osage ;  the  Ohio  he  called  the  Wabash. 
Descending  the  Mississippi  sixty  leagues,  he  came  to 
the  settlements  of  the  Chickasaws,  whose  pride  it 
was  to  flatten  the  faces  of  their  children,  by  applying 
wooden  tablets,  strongly  girt  with  bands,  to  their  fore- 
heads. The  Indians  were  numerous,  the  country  was 
productive,  and  they  were  supplied  with  abundance  of 
everything  they  wanted.  Fifty  leagues  further  down, 
they  came  to  the  Cappas,  where  they  were  at  first 
alarmed  by  the  sound  of  a  drum  ;  but,  on  joining  the 
natives,  they  found  them  quite  friendly  and  partially 
civilized.  They  next  reached  the  Arkansas  tribe ; 
and,  an  account  of  them  having  preceded  their  arrival, 
great  crowds  assembled  to  see  them  and  witness  the 
discharge  of  their  fire-arms.  Here  they  procured 
guides  to  the  Taencas,  where  they  found  a  state  of 
society  decidedly  superior  to  anything  they  had  yet 
seen  in  America.  The  streets  of  the  village  were 
straight  and  regular ;  a  palace  and  a  temple  exhibited 
a  considerable  degree  of  magnificence.  The  women 
wore  dresses  of  woven  cloth,  and  necklaces  and  ear- 
rings of  pearl ;  they  had  deep  brown  complexions, 


200  LA  SALLE'  AND  HENNEPIN. 

and  black,  sparkling  eyes,  which  seemed  to  have 
enchanted  the  gallant  leader  of  the  expedition.  See- 
ing one  of  the  princesses  cast  a  longing  eye  on  a  case 
of  scissors  which  had  been  presented  to  the  king,  he 
slipped  a  pair  into  her  hand,  and  received  a  cordial 
squeeze  in  return.  As  another  lady  cast  a  rather 
rueful  glance  at  the  thorns  with  which  her  train  was 
rudely  fastened,  he  delighted  her  by  a  present  of  a 
quantity  of  pins. 

Taking  leave  of  this  hospitable  tribe,  they  pro- 
ceeded farther  down  the  river,  and  were  met  by  a 
canoe  containing  a  hundred  Indians,  armed  with  bows 
and  arrows.  The  French  ranged  their  canoes  in  line 
of  battle ;  but  on  presenting  the  calumet  of  peace,  the 
Indians  saluted  them  cordially.  These  were  the 
Natchez  tribe,  and  La  Salle  was  invited  to  their  town, 
which  presented,  on  a  greater  scale,  a  similar  specta- 
cle to  that  they  had  witnessed  among  the  Taencas. 
Another  tribe,  the  Quinipissas,  received  them  in  a 
different  manner,  and,  lining  the  shore  with  their 
warriors,  answered  the  hailing  of  the  French  with  a 
shower  of  arrows.  The  adventurers  wisely  sailed 
on ;  and  at  Tangibao  beheld  a  terrible  picture  of  sav- 
age warfare.  The  village  had  just  been  surprised  by 
enemies  and  sacked ;  the  dead  bodies  of  the  inhabi- 
tants were  lying  piled  in  heaps  upon  each  other. 
Two  leagues  lower  down,  the  river  began  to  assume  a 
new  character ;  it  expanded  to  a  breadth  so  immense, 
that  one  bank  could  not  be  seen  from  the  opposite  one ; 
the  taste  of  the  water  became  more  and  more  salt,  and 
the  shore  was  strewed  with  large  and  beautiful  shells. 
They  had  now  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi^ 


LA    SALLE    AND   HENNEPIN.  201 

The  great  object  of  the  expedition  was  now  accom- 
plished, and  La  Salle  celebrated  this  event  with  extra- 
ordinary rejoicings.  Te  Deum  was  sung,  a  cross  and 
the  arms  of  France  were  set  up,  and  formal  possession 
was  taken  of  the  country.  The  return  of  the  party 
up  the  river  was  much  more  difficult  and  perilous 
than  the  descent  had  been.  Many  of  the  savages 
were  hostile,  and  in  their  conflicts,  the  French  killed 
several  of  them.  They  were  some  months  in  proceed- 
ing up  the  Mississippi  and  Illinois,  but  finally  reached 
Quebec  without  the  loss  of  any  of  their  number. 

In  the  mean  time,  Hennepin  was  pursuing  his  expe- 
dition up  the  Mississippi.  Eight  leagues  above  the 
Falls  of  St.  .Anthony,  he  and  his  companions  were 
made  prisoners  by  a  large  party  of  Sioux  Indians, 
who  were  at  war  with  the  Miamies,  and  treated  the 
French  as  enemies,  because  they  came  from  that 
tribe.  The  prisoners  were  told  to  prepare  for  death ; 
but  on  producing  from  their  stores  some  hartchets, 
knives  and  tobacco,  they  appeased  the  savages  to  a 
certain  degree,  and  their  execution  was  deferred. 
The  French  were  carried  along  with  them  on  their 
return  home,  and  Hennepin  caused  great  astonish- 
ment among  the  Indians  by  performing  the  Catholic 
service  before  them.  They  imagined  he  was  exor- 
cising the  devil.  The  Indians  were  divided  in  opinion 
on  the  subject  of  killing  their  prisoners,  and  in  this 
state  of  things  their  life  was  spared.  Besides  this 
constant  prospect  of  death,  the  captives  endured  un- 
speakable hardships  in  their  journey.  The  savages 
marched  at  an  almost  incredible  speed,  regardless  of 
the  obstacles  presented  by  rocks,  swamps  and  tangled 


202  LA    SALLE    AND   HENNEPIN. 

forests.  The  French,  in  their  soundest  condition, 
were  very  unequal  to  such  efforts,  and  being  soon 
overcome  with  fatigue  and  the  pain  from  their 
wounded  limbs,  could  with  difficulty  walk  at  all. 
No  allowance  was  made  for  this ;  the  Indians,  en- 
raged that  their  progress  should  be  impeded,  used  the 
most  cruel  methods  of  urging  them  forward.  When 
everything  else  failed,  they  set  the  dry  grass  behind 
them  on  fire ;  the  flames  spread  rapidly,  and  they 
must  run  or  be  destroyed  by  the  devouring  element. 
After  nineteen  days  of  terrible  suffering,  they  reached 
a  spot  in  the  midst  of  almost  impassable  swamps, 
where  the  tribe  had  their  head  quarters. 

They  here  divided  their  captives  and  'spoil.  Hen- 
nepin  fell  to  the  share  of  a  chief  who  had  been  one  of 
the  most  unrelenting  of  that  party  which  insisted  on 
putting  the  prisoners  to  death.  He  now  considered  it 
time  to  prepare  for  his  last  hour  on  earth ;  but,  to  his 
great  astonishment,  the  chief  offered  him  the  calumet 
of  peace,  informing  him  that  the  national  custom 
allowed  him  the  alternative  either  to  kill  him  or 
adopt  him  as  a  son,  and  that  he  had  chosen  the  latter. 
Hennepin  was  then  introduced  to  his  kindred,  con- 
sisting of  six  mothers  and  a  proportionable  number  of 
brothers  and  sisters.  He  was  suffering  under  a  severe 
rheumatism,  caused  by  the  fatigues  and  exposures  of 
the  last  nineteen  days,  and  was  unable  to  rise  without 
assistance.  The  Indians  laid  him  on  a  bearskin  and 
rubbed  him  with  the  grease  of  wild-cats ;  they  then 
shut  him  up  for  several  hours  in  a  vapor-bath,  while 
his  father  and  three  brothers  partly  sung  and  partly 
wept,  straining  their  voices  to  the  highest  pitch. 


LA    SALLE    AND    HENNEPIN.  203 

flennepin  thought  this  remedy  would  speedily  fend 
him  to  the  other  world ;  but  a  few  applications  of  it 
entirely  restored  him  to  health. 

Hennepin  now  set  about  learning  their  language, 
in  doing  which,  he  wrote  down  the  words  on  paper, 
an  operation  so  strange  and  unintelligible  to  these 
Indians,  as  to  pass  for  a  kind  of  sorcery.  The  paper, 
or  white,  as  they  called  it,  was  imagined  to  be  a  spirit, 
with  whom  he  conversed.  They  amused  themselves 
with  repeating  to  him  long  catalogues  of  names, 
always  adding,  "  Spirit,  tell  that  to  white."  During 
the  winter  they  suffered  from  a  scarcity  of  provisions, 
and  Hennepin  was  nearly  starved  ;  but  this  famine 
was,  fortunately,  the  means  of  deliverance  of  the 
Frenchmen  from  their  captivity.  The  Indians  now 
allowed  them  to  depart;  they  sailed  down  the  Missis- 
sippi, meeting  with  a  variety  of  adventures,  and 
returned  in  safety  to  Canada. 

We  must  add  to  these  narrations  an  account  of  the 
melancholy  fate  of  the  intrepid  La  Salle.  He  pro- 
jected a  scheme  for  planting  a  colony  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi,  which  was  approved  by  the  French 
government ;  he  was  also  furnished  with  a  fleet  of 
four  vessels,  and  a  commission  of  governor  of  all  that 
great  region  in  the  interior  of  America,  extending 
from  the  lakes  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  He  arrived  on 
the  coast  of  Florida  in  16S4 ;  but  here  an  unforeseen 
perplexity  awaited  him.  He  had  no  means  of  finding 
the  Mississippi,  for,  although  he  had  descended  that 
river  to  its  mouth,  he  could  not  know  what  appearance 
it  presented  from  the  sea.  No  observation  of  longi- 
tude had  been  made,  and  he  inquired  fruitlessly  of  alt 


204  LA   SALLE    AND   HENNEPIN. 

the  pilots  and  navigators  in  that  quarter,  on  the  sub* 
ject.  What  little  information  he  obtained  only  misled 
him,  and  he  passed  the  main  opening  of  the  MisJs- 
sippi  without  knowing  it.  He  coasted  along  more 
than  two  hundred  miles  further  westward,  and  dis- 
covered a  bay,  afterwards  named  St.  Bernard.  The 
inviting  appearance  of  the  country  tempted  him  to 
form  an  establishment  here,  and  he  proceeded  to  erect 
a  fort. 

Serious  misfortunes  now  began  to  press  upon  him. 
His  store-ship  sunk  in  the  river,  and  but  a  small  part 
of  her  lading  was  saved ;  the  greater  portion  being 
stolen  by  the  Indians.  La  Salle  took  violent  meas- 
ures for  compelling  them  to  restore  the  property,  and 
war  was  the  consequence.  The  health  of  the  French 
now  began  to  sink  under  a  tropical  climate ;  one  of 
the  officers  was  bitten  by  a  rattlesnake  and  died ;  and  a 
flat-bottomed  vessel,  which  had  been  brought  out  for 
the  purpose  of  surveying  the  coast,  was  lost.  In  the 
mean  time,  no  intelligence  was  received  of  an  expe- 
dition from  Canada  which  was  to  join  them  by  the 
route  of  the  Mississippi.  This  party,  commanded  by 
the  Chevalier  de  Tonti,  had  safely  reached  the  mouth 
of  that  river,  and  had  despatched  boats  along  the  coast, 
east  and  west,  for  twenty  leagues,  without  finding  a 
trace  of  La  Salle.  He  then  abandoned  the  search  in 
despair,  and  returned  up  the  Mississippi. 

La  Salle  struggled  with  great  energy  against  the 
difficulties  of  his  situation.  He  had  become  con- 
vinced that  he  was  not  upon  the  shores  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  determined  to  penetrate  inland,  and  explore 
the  country.  He  took  with  him  his  nephew,  a  young 


LA    SALLE    AND    HENNEPIN.  205 

man  of  talent,  but  somewhat  haughty,  and  an  object 
of  hatred  to  some  fierce  and  turbulent  mutineers  in 
the  party.  These  formed  a  plot  for  his  murder,  and  on 
one  occasion,  having  gone  a  few  miles  with  him  on  a 
hunting  excursion,  they  suddenly  fell  upon  him  and 
his  servant,  and  put  them  to  death.  None  of  the 
party  making  their  appearance  the  next  morning,  La 
Salle  felt  an  ominous  foreboding,  and  set  out  in  search 
of  the  missing  people.  It  was  not  long  before  he  was 
shocked  by  the  sight  of  his  kinsman,  weltering  in  his 
blood.  As  he  looked  round  for  the  assassins  with 
every  expression  of  grief  and  rage,  two  of  them,  who 
were  concealed  in  the  grass,  started  up  and  fired  at 
him.  He  was  shot  through  the  head,  and  fell  lifeless 
to  the  earth.  Thus  perished,  in  the  lonely  wilder-ness, 
one  of  the  bravest  and  most  distinguished  of  those 
daring  leaders  to  whom  the  world  is  indebted  for  its 
earliest  knowledge  of  the  interior  of  the  American 
continent. 


vii.— 18 


THE   PILGRIMS. 


IT  was  on  the  sixth  day  of  September,  1620,  that 
the  Puritans  sailed  from  England,  to  seek  a  new 
home  in  the  Western  World.  Religious  persecution 
had  driven  them  first  to  Holland,  but  believing  that 
their  liberty  of  conscience  and  the  purity  of  their 
faith  would  be  safer  in  the  wilds  of  America,  they 
resolved  to  establish  a  colony  there.  A  settlement 
had  already  been  made  by  the  English  in  Virginia, 
but  the  other  parts  of  the  country  were  imperfectly 
known.  The  attempt  of  the  Puritans  was  perilous, 


THE    PILGRIMS.  207 

and  the  issue  uncertain.  They  had  no  warrant  for 
their  undertaking  from  the  king,  nor  any  charter  from 
the  companies  who  claimed  the  country  toward  which 
they  were  directing  their  attention.  They  embarked, 
after  many  delays  and  mischances,  in  the  Mayflower, 
a  vessel  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  tons,  commanded 
by  an  individual  who,  it  seems,  had  received  a  bribe 
to  thwart  their  purposes.  Their  number  was  one 
hundred  and  one  persons.  The  winter  was  approach- 
ing, and  the  severities  of  that  season,  in  the  region  to 
which  they  were  proceeding,  were  greater  than  they 
had  ever  experienced.  Such  was  the  unpromising 
commencement  of  an  enterprise,  which  the  courage, 
fortitude,  and  energy  of  a  handful  of  men  achieved 
with  the  most  triumphant  success,  and  caused  it  to 
stand  in  history  as  the  most  memorable  and  important 
event  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

Their  original  purpose  was  to  establish  themselves 
on  the  Hudson,  but  the  Dutch,  having  designs  of  their 
own  in  that  quarter,  had  bribed  the  captain  of  the 
Mayflower  to  mislead  them,  and,  after  a  passage  of 
sixty-three  days,  they  made  the  land  at  Cape  Cod,  on 
the  ninth  of  November.  But  "  what  could  they  see," 
says  Morton  in  his  Memorial,  "  but  a  hideous  and 
desolate  wilderness,  full  of  wild  beasts  and  wild  men? 
and  what  multitudes  there  might  be  of  them,  they 
knew  not.  Neither  could  they,  as  it  were,  go  up  to 
the  top  of  Pisgah,  to  view  from  this  wilderness  a  more 
goodly  country,  to  feed  their  hopes.  For  which  way 
soever  they  turned  their  eyes,  save  upward  to  the 
heavens,  they  could  have  little  solace  or  content  in 
respect  of  any  outward  objects.  For  summer  being 


208  THE    PILGRIMS. 

gone,  all  things  stood  for  them  to  look  upon  with  a 
weather-beaten  face ;  and  the  whole  country,  being 
full  of  woods  and  thickets,  represented  a  wild  and 
savage  hue.  If  they  looked  behind  them,  there  was 
the  mighty  ocean  which  they  had  passed,  and  which 
was  now  as  a  main  bar  and  gulf  to  separate  them 
from  all  the  civil  parts  of  the  world." 

After  two  days,  lying  off  and  on,  they  cast  anchor 
in  the  harbor  of  Provincetown,  where  they  were  greet- 
ed by  the  sight  of  "  the  greatest  store  of  sea-fowl  they 
ever  saw."  Here  they  framed  a  social  compact,  the 
first  democratical  constitution  of  modern  times.  This 
memorable  document,  which  may  be  regarded  as  the 
beginning  of  American  liberty,  was  drawn  up  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  In  the  name  of  God,  Amen.  We,  whose  names 
are  underwritten,  the  loyal  subjects  of  our  dread  sove- 
reign lord,  King  James,  by  the  grace  of  God,  of 
Great  Britain,  France  and  Ireland,  king,  defender  of 
the  faith,  &c. — having  undertaken,  for  the  glory  of 
God,  and  advancement  of  the  Christian  faith,  and 
honor  of  our  king  and  country,  a  voyage  to  plant  the 
first  colony  in  the  northern  parts  of  Virginia,  do,  by 
these  presents,  solemnly  and  mutually,  in  the  presence 
of  God  and  of  one  another,  covenant  and  combine  our- 
selves together  into  a  civil  body  politic  for  our  better 
ordering  and  preservation,  and  furtherance  of  the 
ends  aforesaid ;  and  by  virtue  hereof  to  enact,  consti- 
tute and  frame  such  just  and  equal  laws,  ordinances, 
acts,  constitutions  and  offices,  from  time  to  time,  as 
shall  be  thought  most  meet  and  convenient  for  the 
general  good  of  the  colony ;  unto  which  we  promise 


THE    PILGRIMS.  209 

all  due  submission  and  obedience.  In  witness  where- 
of, we  have  hereunder  subscribed  our  names,  at  Cape 
Cod,  on  the  llth  of  November,  in  the  year  of  the 
reign  of  our  sovereign  lord,  King  James,  of  England, 
France  and  Ireland,  the  eighteenth,  and  of  Scotland 
the  fifty-fourth,  Anno  Domini  1620." 

No  Indians  were  seen,  and  the  land  was  completely 
covered  with  a  forest  of  oaks,  pines,  junipers,  sassafras, 
"  and  other  sweet  wood."  A  party  of  sixteen  men, 
under  Captain  Miles  Standish,  each  individual  equip- 
ped with  a  match-lock,  sword  and  corslet,  set  out  to 
explore  the  country.  They  marched  in  single  file 
along  the  shore,  and  at  the  end  of  a  mile  discovered 
five  or  six  Indians  with  a  dog,  who,  on  espying  the 
English,  ran  into  the  woods.  Standish  and  his  men 
tracked  them  through  the  forest  for  ten  miles,  and  got 
sight  of  them  running  up  a  hill  as  night  was  approach- 
ing. They  encamped  in  the  woods,  and  recommenced 
their  pursuit  of  the  Indians  the  next  morning,  hoping 
to  discover  their  dwellings.  The  thick  wood  shat- 
tered their  armor,  and  they  were  distressed  with  thirst. 
About  the  middle  of  the  forenoon  they  came  to  a  deep 
valley,  full  of  bushes  and  long  grass,  where  they  saw 
a  deer,  and  found  springs  of  fresh  water,  "  of  which 
they  were  heartily  glad,  and  sat  down  and  drank  their 
first  New  England  water  with  as  much  delight  as 
ever  they  drunk  drink  in  all  their  lives."  Further 
onward,  they  saw  signs  of  cultivation,  and,  digging 
into  a  heap  of  sand,  they  found  a  basket  of  Indian  corn 
containing  three  or  four  bushels,  "  with  some  six  and 
thirty  ears,  some  yellow  and  some  red,  and  others 
mixed  with  blue,  which  was  a  very  goodly  sight." 
N  18* 


210  THE    PILGRIMS. 

Near  this  spot  were  the  remains  of  an  old  fort,  which 
appeared  to  have  been  built  by  Europeans.  On  the 
banks  of  a  creek  were  two  canoes ;  but  nothing  else 
was  discovered,  except  some  Indian  utensils. 

They  made  a  great  fire,  and  kept  watch  with  three 
sentinels  all  night.  It  rained  hard,  and  it  was  with 
much  difficulty  that  they  were  able  to  put  their  mus- 
kets in  an  effective  condition.  They  now  bent  their 
course  toward  the  ship,  but  soon  got  lost  in  the  woods. 
One  of  the  party  was  caught  in  a  snare,  made  by 
bending  a  strong  sapling  downward,  and  was  jerked 
up  by  the  leg,  and  held  dangling  in  the  air.  "  It  was 
a  very  pretty  device,"  says  the  narrator,  who  probably 
was  not  the  individual  caught  in  it.  They  saw  part- 
ridges, geese,  ducks  and  deer,  but  shot  nothing.  At 
length  they  found  their  way  back  to  the  vessel,  bring- 
ing a  portion  of  the  corn  which  they  had  discovered, 
meaning  to  pay  the  owners  for  it  when  they  should 
meet  with  them. 

They  now  felled  timber,  and  built  a  shallop. 
Nearly  all  the  men  were  afflicted  with  coughs  and 
colds,  by  wading. in  the  water,  in  raw  and  stormy 
weather;  many  died  shortly  after,  from  the  conse- 
quences of  this  exposure.  At  length  thirty-four  per- 
sons embarked  in  the  shallop  and  long-boat,  to  explore 
the  coast.  The  cold  increased,  and  they  were  much 
incommoded  by  ice  and  snow.  On  the  second  day 
of  their  expedition  they  shot  three  fat  geese  and  six 
ducks,  and  the  next  day  two  more  geese,  which 
proved  a  seasonable  supply.  They  then  bent  their 
course  to  the  spot  where  they  had  obtained  the  corn. 
They  dug  up  what  they  had  left  the  first  time,  and 


THE    PILGRIMS.  211 

found  more,  amounting  to  ten  bushels,  besides  a  bag 
of  beans  and  some  "  Indian  wheat."  This  they  sent 
back  to  the  ship  with  some  of  the  feeblest  of  their 
party ;  eighteen  of  them  remained.  The  next  morn- 
ing they  came  to  a  broad,  beaten  path,  which  seemed 
to  be  the  road  to  an  Indian  village.  They  lighted  all 
their  matches,  and  prepared  for  an  encounter,  but  the 
path  turned  out  to  be  only  an  approach  to  a  deer-trap. 
On  the  same  day,  they  made  a  discovery  somewhat 
curious.  We  shall  transcribe  the  narrative  of  one  of 
the  party.  "  When  we  had  marched  five  or  six  miles 
into  the  woods,  and  could  find  no  signs  of  people,  we 
returned  another  way ;  and  as  we  came  into  the  plain 
ground,  we  found  a  place  like  a  grave,  but  it  was 
much  bigger  and  longer  than  any  we  had  yet  seen. 
It  was  also  covered  with  boards,  so  as  we  mused  what 
it  might  be,  and  resolved  to  dig  it  up.  We  found 
first  a  mat,  and  under  that  a  fair  bow,  and  under  that 
another  mat,  and  under  that  a  board  about  three  quar- 
ters [of  a  yard]  long,  finely  carved  and  painted,  with 
three  tines  or  broaches  on  the  top,  like  a  crown.  Also/, 
between  the  mats  we  found  bowls,  trays,  dishes,  and 
such  like  trinkets.  At  length  we  came  to  a  fair  new 
mat,  and  under  that  two  bundles,  the  one  bigger,  and 
the  other  less.  We  opened  the  greater,  and  found  in 
it  a  great  quantity  of  fine  and  perfect  red  powder,  and 
in  it  the  bones  and  skull  of  a  man.  The  skull  had 
fine  yellow  hair  still  on  it,  and  some  of  the  flesh  un- 
consumed.  There  were  bound  up  with  it  a  knife,  a 
packneedle,  and  two  or  three  old  iron  things.  It  was 
bound  up  in  a  sailor's  canvass  cassock  and  a  pair  of 
cloth  breeches.  The  red  powder  was  a  kind  of  em- 


212  THE    PILGRIMS. 

bajmment,  and  yielded  a  strong,  but  not  offensive 
smell ;  it  was  as  fine  as  any  flour.  We  opened  the 
less  bundle  likewise,  and  found  of  the  same  powder 
in  it,  and  the  bones  and  head  of  a  little  child.  About 
the  legs  and  other  parts  of  it  were  bound  strings  and 
bracelets  of  fine  white  beads.  There  was  also  by  it  a 
little  bow,  about  three  quarters  long,  and  some  other 
odd  knacks.  We  brought  sundry  of  the  prettiest 
things  away  with  us,  and  covered  the  corpse  up  again. 
There  was  a  variety  of  opinions  amongst  us  about  the 
embalmed  person.  Some  thought  it  was  an  Indian 
lord  and  king.  Others  said  the  Indians  have  all  black 
hair,  and  never  any  was  seen  with  brown  or  yellow 
hair.  Some  thought  it  was  a  Christian  of  some  spe- 
cial note  who  had  died  amongst  them,  and  they  thus 
buried  him  to  honor  him.  Others  thought  they  had 
killed  him,  and  did  it  in  triumph  over  him."* 

Not  far  from  this  place,  they  discovered  two  Indian 
wigwams,  containing  furniture  and  provisions ;  but 
none  of  the  natives  were  seen.  They  now  held  a 
consultation  as  to  their  future  course.  The  lateness 

*  The  particulars  of  this  account  have  induced  the  belief  that 
this  was  the  body  of  one  of  the  Northmen,  who,  as  we  have 
seen,  landed  on  Cape  Cod,  and  were  invplved  in  hostilities  with 
the  natives.  The  mode  of  burial  with  mats,  planks,  and  domes- 
tic utensils,  is  precisely  that  of  the  Scandinavians.  The  same 
is  the  case  with  embalmment,  a  practice  unknown  to  the  In- 
dians of  New  England.  Yellow  hair  is  the  characteristic  of 
the  Danes ;  and  no  Indian  has  any  other  than  black  hair.  The 
piece  of  wood  finely  carved  and  painted,  with  three  tines  or 
broaches  on  the  top  like  a  crown,  is  as  exact  a  description  as 
could  be  given  of  the  rymstocke,  or  Runic  staff,  which  is  still  in 
use  among  the  Scandinavian  nations. 


THE    PILGRIMS.  213 

of  the  season  made  it  indispensable  that  they  should 
fix  upon  some  spot  convenient  for  passing  the  winter. 
Cape  Cod  did  not  please  them,  and  some  proposed 
going  to  Agawam,  which  they  understood  to  be  about 
twenty  leagues  to  the  north,  with  a  good  harbor  and 
fishery,  and  a  better  soil  than  they  found  at  the  Cape. 
There  were  some  inducements,  however,  to  remain. 
Great  numbers  of  whales  came  daily  playing  about 
their  ship,  "  of  the  best  kind  for  oil  and  bone,"  and 
tempted  them  with  the  hopes  of  a  profitable  fishery. 
One  of  them,  when  the  sun  shone  warm,  came,  and 
lay  above  water  as  if  she  had  been  dead  for  a  consid- 
erable time,  within  half  musket  shot  of  the  vessel. 
Two  of  the  men  fired  their  muskets  at  her.  The 
first  one  exploded,  splitting  barrel  and  stock  into  frag- 
ments, yet  nobody  was  hurt.  "  But  when  the  whale 
saw  her  time,  she  gave  a  snuff,  and  away !  " 

At  length,  by  the  persuasion  of  the  pilot,  who  in- 
formed them  of  a  great  navigable  river  and  a  good 
harbor  opposite  the  cape,  not  more  then  eight  leagues 
distant,  they  sent  off  another  exploring  party,  under 
the  direction  of  Standish,  Carver,  Bradford,  Winslow, 
and  others.  These  departed  on  the  6th  of  December, 
and  coasted  along  the  cape  in  their  boat.  The  cold 
was  intense ;  the  water  froze  on  their  clothes,  and 
"  made  them  many  times  like  coats  of  iron."  They 
discovered  a  dozen  Indians,  who  ran  away  at  the  sight 
of  them.  A  portion  of  them  went  on  shore  and  barri- 
caded themselves  to  pass  the  night.  They  saw  the  light 
of  the  Indian  encampment,  four  or  five  miles  distant. 
All  the  next  day,  they  ranged  up  and  down,  following 
the  track?;  of  the  Indians.  They  were  struck  with  the 


214  THE    PILGRIMS. 

appearance  of  a  great  cemetery,  "  one  part  whereof 
was  encompassed  with  a  large  palisado  like  a  church- 
yard, with  young  spires  four  or  five  yards  long,  set  as 
close  by  one  another  as  they  could,  two  or  three  feet 
in  the  ground."  This  enclosure  contained  a  great 
number  of  graves,  some  surrounded  by  palings,  and 
others  housed  in.  At  sunset,  the  party  on  land  dis- 
covered the  boat,  from  which  they  had  been  separated 
all  the  day,  and  their  whole  company  passed  the  night 
together.  About  midnight  they  were  alarmed  by  a 
hideous  cry,  and  all  ran  to  their  arms ;  but  on  firing 
a  couple  of  muskets,  the  noise  ceased.  They  sup- 
posed it  to  proceed  from  a  horde  of  wolves  or  foxes. 

Early  the  next  morning,  they  carried  their  arms  on 
board  the  boat,  and  sat  down  to  breakfast,  at  some  dis- 
tance from  the  water.  Suddenly,  they  heard  a  terri- 
ble war-whoop,  and  a  cry  from  one  of  their  own  men, 
of  "  Indians  !  Indians !  "  The  next  moment,  a  cloud 
of  arrows  fell  about  them.  They  ran  with  all  speed 
to  recover  their  arms,  and  had  the  good  fortune  to 
reach  them  before  the  savages  came  up.  A  battle 
now  ensued,  and  many  shots  were  exchanged.  The 
Indians  showed  great  bravery.  One  of  them,  sup- 
posed to  be  their  leader,  stationed  himself  behind  a 
tree  within  half  a  musket  shot  of  the  English,  and  let 
fly  his  arrows  at  them.  He  stood  three  shots  of  a 
musket,  but  at  length  was  apparently  wounded,  for 
one  of  the  English,  taking  full  aim  at  him,  fired,  on 
which  he  "  gave  an  extraordinary  cry,  and  away  they 
went  all."  This  conflict  took  place  in  the  morning 
twilight,  and  the  English  had  but  an  indistinct  view 
of  their  enemies,  who  fought  under  cover  of  the 


THE    PILGRIMS.  215 

woods.  They  picked  up  eighteen  of  their  arrows, 
some  of  which  were  headed  with  brass,  others  with 
deer's  horns,  and  others  with  eagles'  claws.  The 
English  suffered  no  loss.  They  named  this  place  The 
First  Encounter. 

All  that  day,  they  sailed  along  the  coast,  without 
finding  harbor  or  creek  to  put  into.  It  rained  and 
snowed,  and  the  sea  was  rough.  Towards  night,  the 
pilot  said  he  saw  the  harbor,  and  they  kept  before  the 
wind,  crowding  all  sail.  The  sea  rose  high,  and  the 
gale  increased,  and  as  they  approached  the  shore, 
their  mast  snapped  into  three  pieces.  They  were  now 
on  the  verge  of  destruction,  for  at  this  critical  moment 
the  pilot,  discovering  that  he  had  mistaken  the  spot, 
exclaimed,  "  Lord  be  merciful !  My  eyes  never  saw 
this  place  before  ! "  They  were  about  to  run  the  boat 
ashore,  in  a  cove  full  of  breakers,  where  they  would 
all  have  perished,  but  a  steersman  called  to  the  rowers, 
"  About  with  her  if  you  be  men,  or  we  are  cast  away !  " 
They  put  about  and  stood  off.  Presently  they  discov- 
ered the  opening  of  a  harbor,  into  which  they  made 
their  way,  and  found  a  safe  anchorage  under  the  lee 
of  a  small  island. 

They  were  now  in  the  harbor  of  Plymouth,  where 
they  remained  the  two  following  days,  Saturday  and 
Sunday.  On  Monday,  the  twelfth  day  of  December, 
Old  Style,  they  landed  on  that  memorable  spot,  now 
famous  in  history  as  Forefathers'  Rock.  No  Indians 
were  seen ;  they  found  cornfields,  running  brooks, 
and  a  good  situation  for  a  settlement ;  they  also  sound- 
ed the  harbor,  and  found  it  a  good  haven  for  their 
shipping.  All  things  invited  them  to  establish  them- 


216  THE    PILGRIMS. 

selves  in  this  spot,  and  they  returned  to  the  ship 
*  with  good  news  to  the  rest  of  their  people,  which  did 
much  comfort  their  hearts."  The  Mayflower  weighed 
anchor  and  proceeded  to  the  place.  A  spot  was 
selected  for  a  town,  and  the  name  of  Plymouth  was 
bestowed  upon  it,  in  commemoration  of  the  hospital- 
ities which  the  Pilgrims  had  received  at  the  port  from 
which  they  last  sailed,  on  leaving  England.  Amidst 
the  snows  and  storms  of  winter,  they  built  their 
houses,  and  fortunately  w.ere  not  molested  by  the  In- 
dians. Traces  of  these  were  apparent  at  Plymouth, 
and  they  sometimes  discovered  the  smoke  of  their 
fires  at  a  distance ;  but  the  neighborhood  had  been 
depopulated  by  a  pestilence,  and  none  of  the  original 
occupants  were  alive  to  lay  claim  to  the  territory. 

Sickness,  want  and  hardship  prevailed  during  the 
winter,  and  great  numbers  of  them  died.  One  day, 
in  March,  1621,  an  Indian  suddenly  made  his  appear- 
ance among  them,  and  exclaimed, "  Welcome,  English- 
men !  "  This  was  Samoset,  a  Wampanoag,  who  had 
learnt  a  little  of  their  language  by  intercourse  with 
the  fishermen  who  frequented  the  coast  of  Maine. 
He  proved  a  very  useful  mediator,  in  bringing  about 
an  intercourse  between  the  English  and  the  neighbor- 
ing tribes.  In  a  short  time,  Massasoit,  the  greatest 
sachem  in  that  part  of  the  country,  the  chief  of  the 
Massachusetts  Indians,  made  a  visit  to  Plymouth, 
which  at  this  time  contained  not  above  fifty  inhabi- 
tants, so  severe  had  been  the  mortality  among  the  set- 
tlers. They  received  the  sachem  with  feelings  of 
friendship,  and  all  the  ceremony  which  their  reduced 
condition  allowed.  A  treaty  of  peace  was  entered 


THE    PILGRIMS.  217 

into,  both  parties  agreeing  to  abstain  from  injuries 
and  encroachments  upon  each  other,  and  to  deliver 
up  all  offenders.  The  English  were  to  receive  assis- 
tance from  Massasoit,  if  they  were  attacked  by  ene- 
mies, and  to  assist  him,  if  he  should  be  unjustly 
assailed.  This  treaty  included  the  confederates  of 
the  sachem,  and  is  the  most  ancient  act  of  diplomacy 
recorded  in  the  history  of  New  England.  It  was 
concluded  in  a  single  day,  and,  being  founded  on  re- 
ciprocal interests,  was  sacredly  kept  for  more  than 
half  a  century. 

Such  was  the  beginning  of  the  first  permanent  set- 
tlement in  New  England.  These  Puritans  were  soon 
followed  by  others,  and,  though  the  infant  colonies 
were  subjected  to  every  species  of  hardship  which 
could  spring  from  famine  and  a  rigorous  climate,  they 
were  borne  with  a  patience  and  resignation,  which  the 
firmest  faith  alone  could  have  supplied.  With  an 
energy  and  perseverance  that  could  not  be  baffled, 
a  wisdom  far  superior  to  the  age,  and  a  piety  which 
never  wavered,  these  settlers  pursued  their  object,  and 
laid  the  foundations  of  those  blessings  which  are  now 
enjoyed  by  more  than  two  millions  of  people,  and 
which  are  extending  their  influence  over  the  whole 
Union. 


vii.— 19 


SALEM  WITCHCRAFT. 

THERE  are  few  portions  of  either  ancient  or  modern 
aistory  which  exhibit  stranger  or  more  tragical  and 
affecting  scenes  than  that  known  by  the  title  of  Salem 
Witchcraft,  and  few  occurrences  that  are  matter  of 
authentic  history  remain  so  deeply  shrouded  in  mys- 
tery at  the  present  day.  This  delusion,  notwith- 
standing the  intense  curiosity  it  has  always  excited, 
has  never  yet  been  satisfactorily  explained ;  time  has 
rather  obscured  than  thrown  light  upon  the  subject, 
and  a  prominent  place  may  be  assigned  to  it  among 
that  large  class  of  historical  facts,  for  which  succeed- 
ing generations  find  it  impossible  to  account.  That 
it  was  attended  by  fraud  and  imposture,  and  that  the 
people  labored  under  a  frenzy  in  their  treatment  of  it, 
admits  of  no  doubt.  But  it  was  not  all  fraud  and  im- 
posture, and  there  were  certain  phenomena  exhibited 
during  its  career  which  it  is  impossible  to  explain 
upon  any  principles  of  natural  philosophy  which  were 
known  to  that  age  or  the  present. 

The  belief  in  witchcraft  at  that  time  was  general 
throughout  Christendom,  and  the  existence  and  crim- 
inality of  the  practice  were  recognized  in  the  penal 
code  of  every  state.  Persons  suspected  of  being 
witches  and  wizards,  were  tried,  condemned  and  put 
to  death  by  the  authority  of  the  most  enlightened 
tribunals  in  Europe.  Only  a  few  years  before  the 


SALEM    WITCHCRAFT.  219 

occurrences  in  New  England,  Sir  Matthew  Hale,  a 
judge  highly  and  justly  renowned  for  the  strength 
of  his  understanding,  the  variety  of  his  knowledge, 
and  the  eminent  Christian  graces  which  adorned  his 
character,  had,  after  a  long  and  anxious  investigation, 
adjudged  a  number  of  men  and  women  to  die  for  this 
offence.  The  reality  of  witchcraft  had  never  yet 
been  questioned,  nor  were  there  any  persons  to  whom 
that  reality  appeared  unimportant  or  incredible,  except 
those  who  regarded  the  spiritual  world  as  altogether 
a  mere  speculation,  vague,  visionary  and  delusive. 
Among  other  believers  in  the  practice,  were  some  of 
the  accused  themselves  who  suffered  for  the  crime. 
Instigated  by  fraud,  folly  or  cruelty,  or  possessed  by 
demoniacal  frenzy,  some  of  these  unhappy  beings 
professed,  more  or  less  openly,  to  hold  communication 
with  the  powers  of  darkness ;  and  by  the  adminis- 
tration of  subtile  poisons,  by  disturbing  the  imagina- 
tion of  their  victims,  or  by  mysterious  powers  which 
have  baffled  the  ingenuity  of  modern  times  to  explain, 
they  committed  crimes  and  inflicted  injuries,  which 
were  punished,  perhaps,  under  an  erroneous  name. 

The  colonists  of  New  England  could  by  no  means 
have  been  expected  to  be  free  from  a  belief  which 
was  general  throughout  Christendom;  on  the  con- 
trary, it  was  natural  that  they  should  regard  witch- 
craft with  a  degree  of  abhorrence  and  indignation 
corresponding  to  those  strong  religious  feelings,  for 
which  they  were  so  remarkably  distinguished.  Their 
experience  in  America  tended  to  strengthen  the  sen- 
timents on  this  subject  which  they  Drought  with  them 
from  Europe  ;  for  they  found  the  belief  of  witchcraft 


220  SALEM   WITCHCRAFT. 

firmly  rooted  among  the  aboriginal  tribes,  and  the  prac- 
tice of  it,  or  what  was  so  esteemed,  prevalent  among 
those  people,  whom,  as  heathens,  they  regarded  in  the 
light  of  worshippers  of  demons.  Moreover,  the  per- 
secution to  which  the  Pilgrims  had  been  exposed  in 
their  own  country,  and  the  sufferings  which  they 
endured  in  the  early  years  of  their  residence  here, 
acting  upon  them  in  co-operation  with  the  political 
and  ecclesiastical  occurrences  which  marked  the 
commencement  of  the  seventeenth  century,  had  im- 
parted a  gloomy,  severe  and  romantic  turn  to  their 
dispositions,  which  was  transmitted  in  full  strength  to 
their  children.  It  was  the  triumphant  age  of  super- 
stition. The  imagination  had  been  expanded  by 
credulity,  till  it  had  reached  a  wild  and  monstrous 
growth.  The  Puritans  were  always  prone  to  subject 
themselves  to  its  influence,  and  New  England  was,  at 
this  time,  a  most  fit  and  congenial  theatre  upon  which 
to  display  its  power.  Cultivation  and  civilization  had 
made  but  a  partial  encroachment  upon  the  wilderness. 
Wide,  deep  and  gloomy  forests  covered  the  hills,  hung 
over  the  unfrequented  roads,  and  frowned  upon  the 
scattered  settlements.  The  woods  were  still  the 
abode  of  wild  beasts  and  wild  Indians.  A  strongly- 
rooted  sentiment  of  hostility  and  horror  became  asso- 
ciated in  the  minds  of  the  colonists  with  the  name  of 
Indian.  The  tomahawk,  scalping-knife  and  firebrand 
had  laid  waste  the  frontier,  the  seacoast  was  ;nfested 
with  hostile  privateers,  and  ruthless  pirates  were  con- 
tinually prowling  along  the  shores.  It  •-vas  the  dark- 
est and  most  desponding  period  in  the  ^istory  of  this 
portion  of  our  country. 


SALEM   WITCHCRAFT.  221 

The  colonists,  moreover,  had  been  accustomed  from 
an  early  period  to  "  dream  dreams  and  see  visions." 
Sights  and  sounds  esteemed  supernatural  often  threw 
them  into  amazement  and  terror.  Indian  powows 
were  seen  upon  the  hill-tops  at  midnight,  and  demons 
were  imagined  to  be  flitting  in  the  air  above  them ; 
unearthly  voices  issued  from  the  dark  forests,  and 
cannon  were  heard  in  the  depth  of  the  sea ;  strange 
apparitions  in  the  sky  struck  all  men  with  awe  and 
wonder.  One  incident  of  this  nature  is  detailed  in 
the  following  narrative,  which  is  supported  by  such 
unquestionable  evidence,  that  there  can  be  no  doubt 
of  its  substantial  truth.  In  January,  1646,  a  new 
ship,  containing  a  valuable  cargo,  and  having  several 
distinguished  persons  on  board  as  passengers,  sailed 
from  New  Haven  for  England.  The  vessels  which 
arrived  in  the  colony  during  the  ensuing  season 
brought  no  accounts  of  her  arrival.  The  pious  colo- 
nists, put  up  earnest  and  constant  prayers  that  they 
might  be  favored  with  intelligence  from  the  missing 
vessel.  More  than  two  years  after,  in  June,  1648,  as 
the  narrative  states,  "  a  great  thunder-storm  arose  out 
of  the  northwest ;  after  which,  the  hemisphere  being 
serene,  about  an  hour  before  sunset,  a  ship  of  like 
dimensions  with  the  aforesaid,  with  her  canvass  and 
colors  abroad,  although  the  wind  was  northerly,  ap- 
peared in  the  air,  coming  up  from  the  harbor's  mouth, 
which  lies  southward  from  the  town,  seemingly  with 
her  sails  filled  under  a  fresh  gale,  holding  her  course 
north,  and  continuing  under  observation,  sailing 
against  the  wind,  for  the  space  of  half  an  hour." 
This  phantom  ship  was  borne  along  until,  to  the  excited 
19* 


222  SALEM   WITCHCRAFT. 

imaginations  of  the  spectators,  she  seemed  to  have 
approached  so  near  that  they  could  throw  a  stone  on 
board  of  her.  The  main-topmast  then  disappeared ; 
next  all  her  masts  faded  away ;  and  finally  her  hull 
fell  off  and  vanished  from  the  view,  leaving  a  dull  and 
smoke-colored  cloud,  which  soon  dissolved,  and  the 
whole  atmosphere  hecame  clear.  All  the  inhabitants 
were  convinced  that  this  airy  vision  was  a  precise 
copy  and  image  of  the  missing  vessel,  and  that  it  was 
sent  to  announce  and  describe  her  fate.  They  con- 
sidered it  the  spectre  of  the  lost  ship,  and  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Davenport,  of  New  Haven,  declared  in  public  that 
"God  had  condescended,  for  the  quieting  of  their 
afflicted  spirits,  this  extraordinary  account  of  his  sove- 
reign disposal  of  those  for  whom  so  many  fervent 
prayers  were  made  continually."  As  these  particu- 
lars are  undoubted,  the  reader  will  have  no  difficulty 
in  explaining  this  phenomenon,  by  referring  it  to  a 
mirage,  in  which,  under  the  influence  of  a  peculiar 
state  of  the  atmosphere,  distant  objects  are  raised 
above  the  horizon,  and  brought  into  the  view  of  spec- 
tators far  distant.  It  was  no  doubt  the  picture  of  a 
Dutch  ship  sailing  towards  New  York.* 

The  first  trials  for  witchcraft  in  New  England 
occurred  in  1645,  when  four  persons  charged  with 
this  crime  were  put  to  death  in  Massachusetts.  Goffe, 
the  regicide,  in  his  diary,  records  the  conviction  of 
three  others  at  Hartford,  in  Connecticut,  in  1662,  and 
remarks  that  after  one  of  them  was  hanged,  a  young 
woman  who  had  been  bewitched  was  restored  to 

*  This  anecdote  has  been  dressed  up  into  an  amusing  fiction 
by  Mr.  Irving.  See  his  tale  of  the  "  Storm  Ship." 


SALEM   WITCHCRAFT.  223 

health.  For  more  than  twenty  years  after  this,  few 
instances  occurred,  and  little  notice  has  heen  preserved 
of  similar  prosecutions.  But  in  1688,  a  case  hap- 
pened in  Boston  which  led  to  an  execution,  conducted 
with  a  degree  of  solemnity  that  made  a  deep  impres- 
iion  on  the  minds  of  the  people.  Four  of  the  children 
of  one  John  Goodwin,  a  grave  and  steady  man,  were 
generally  believed  to  be  bewitched.  The  children 
were  all  remarkable  for  frankness  of  character,  and 
had  been  religiously  educated ;  the  eldest  was  a  girl 
of  thirteen  or  fourteen  years.  She  had  charged  a 
laundress  with  purloining  some  of  the  family  linen. 
The  mother  of  the  laundress  was  a  low  Irish  woman, 
of  bad  character,  and  gave  the  girl  harsh  language ; 
soon  after  which  the  girl  fell  into  fits,  which  were  said 
to  have  something  diabolical  in  them.  One  of  her 
sisters  and  two  brothers  followed  her  example,  and 
were  tormented  in  the  same  part  of  their  bodies  at  the 
same  time,  although  kept  in  separate  apartments,  and 
ignorant  of  each  other's  complaints.  One  or  two 
things  excited  special  attention :  all  these  phenomena 
happened  in  the  daytime,  yet  they  slept  comfortably 
at  night.  They  were  struck  dumb  at  the  sight  of  the 
Assembly's  Catechism,  Cotton's  Milk  for  Babes,  and 
some  other  good  books  of  the  same  stamp ;  but  they 
could  read  without  difficulty  the  Oxford  jests,  popish 
and  Quaker  books,  the  common  prayer,  and  other 
works  not  in  good  odor  among  the  Puritans.  Some- 
times they  would  be  deaf,  then  dumb,  then  blind,  and 
sometimes  all  these  calamities  would  come  upon  them 
together.  Their  tongues  would  be  drawn  down  their 
throats ;  their  joints  would  appear  to  be  dislocated ; 


2P4  SALEM   WITCHCRAFT. 

they  would  make  the  most  piteous  outcries  of  burn- 
ings, of  being  cut  with  knives,  beaten,  &c.,  and  the 
marks  of  wounds  and  bruises  would  afterwards  be  seen. 
These  things  excited  a  general  wonder  and  alarm. 
The  ministers  of  Boston  and  Charlestown  kept  a  day 
of  fasting  and  prayer  at  the  troubled  house,  after 
which  the  youngest  child  made  no  more  complaints. 
The  others  continuing  to  be  afflicted,  the  magistrates 
interposed,  and  the  old  woman  was  apprehended ;  but 
upon  examination  she  would  neither  confess  nor  deny, 
and  appeared  to  be  disordered  in  her  senses.  Upon 
the  report  of  physicians  that  she  was  compos  mentis, 
she  was  executed,  declaring  at  her  death  that  the  chil- 
dren should  not  be  relieved.  It  seems  pretty  evident 
that  this  woman  was  persuaded  by  the  circumstances 
into  something  like  a  belief  that  she  had  exercised  a 
supernatural  power  over  them.  f  An  account  of  this 
transaction  was  published  and  circulated  in  England; 
and  so  generally  and  firmly  were  the  wise  and  good 
of  that  age  persuaded  of  the  justice  of  the  execution, 
that  Richard  Baxter,  the  celebrated  nonconformist 
divine,  wrote  a  preface  to  the  narrative,  in  which  he 
declared  that  any  one  who  refused  to  believe  it  must 
be  no  better  than  an  obdurate  Sadducee.  The  afflict- 
ed children  returned  to  their  ordinary  behavior,  and 
ever  afterward  led  sober  and  religious  lives.  One  of 
them  was  intimately  known  to  the  historian  Hutchin- 
son,  who  states  that  she  was  a  sober  and  virtuous 
woman,  and  never  made  any  acknowledgment  of 
fraud  in  this  transaction. 

This  was  sufficiently  strange,  and  no  doubt  it  had 
its  effect  in  leading  to  that  awful  tragedy  which  ren- 


SALEM   WITCHCRAFT.  225 

dered  New  England  for  many  months  a  scene  of 
terror,  madness  and  bloodshed.  The  commencement 
of  what  is  called  the  "  Salem  Witchcraft,"  was  in  the 
family  of  Samuel  Parris,  minister  of  Salem  village, 
now  Danvers,  in  February,  1692.  A  quarrel  had 
arisen  between  this  clergyman  and  his  people,  which 
had  grown  in  extent  and  exasperation,  till  it  had 
spread  animosities  and  malignant  passions  through- 
out the  town ;  it  finally  became  of  such  moment,  that  it 
was  carried  up  to  the  General  Court,  ana  was  a  topic 
of  discussion  and  altercation  there.  One  writer  states 
that  the  country  was  visited  about  this  time  with  an 
epidemic  disease,  which  bore  some  resemblance  to 
epilepsy,  but  which  the  physicians,  unable  to  explain 
or  cure,  readily  ascribed  to  a  supernatural  cause.  It 
appears  not  to  have  become  epidemic  till  it  was  be- 
lieved to  be  witchcraft.  About  the  end  of  February, 
a  young  daughter  of  Parris,  his  niece,  and  two  other 
young  girls,  began  to  make  complaints  similar  to  those 
which  were  made  by  the  young  Goodwins.  The  phy- 
sicians, not  understanding  the  disorder,  pronounced 
the  children  bewitched.  An  Indian  woman,  who  had 
been  brought  into  the  country  from  Mexico,  and  then 
lived  in  the  house,  tried.some  experiments  of  her  own 
to  discover  the  witch.  The  children,  hearing  this, 
cried  out  upon  the  poor  Indian,  affirmed  she  was 
pinching,  pricking,  and  tormenting  them,  and  fell  into 
fits.  Tituba,  the  Indian,  acknowledged  that  she  was 
a  witch-finder,  but  denied  that  she  was  u  witch  her- 
self. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  disorder  spread ;  and  this 
is  not  difficult  to  be  explained  without  resorting  to  any 
o 


226  SALEM   WITCHCRAFT. 

supernatural  cause.  The  love  of  notoriety,  which  is 
one  of  the  most  mischievous  evils  of  the  present  day, 
and  which  we  hourly  behold  leading  multitudes  of 
both  sexes  into  every  sort  of  monstrous  extravagance, 
being  a  constituent  part  of  the  human  character,  must 
have  existed  in  a  greater  or  less  degree  in  those  times. 
The  operation  of  it  in  this  case  is  evident.  Several 
private  fasts  were  kept  at  the  house  of  Parris,  several 
public  ones  i)y  the  whole  village,  and  then  a  general 
fast  throughout  the  colony,  "  to  seek  to  God  to  rebuke 
Satan."  The  great  notice  which  these  circumstances 
directed  toward  the  children  so  strangely  affected, 
together  with  the  compassion  and  sympathy  of  the 
multitudes  who  visited  them,  not  only  tended  to  con- 
firm their  course  of  conduct,  but  to  induce  others, 
either  through  design,  sympathy,  or  delusion,  to  follow 
their  example.  Accordingly,  the  number  of  the  suffer- 
ers soon  increased ;  and  among  them  were  two  or 
three  old  women,  and  some  girls  of  sufficient  age  to 
be  credible  witnesses.  These  charged  as  a  witch 
not  only  Tituba,  but  Sarah  Osborn,a  melancholy,  dis- 
tracted old  woman,  and  Sarah  Good,  a  bed-ridden 
invalid.  At  length,  the  Indian  woman,  having  been 
severely  chastised  by  her  master,  confessed  herself  a 
witch,  and  declared  that  the  two  old  women  were  he/ 
confederates.  They  were  in  consequence  committed 
to  prison ;  and  Tituba  was  found,  on  examination,  to 
have  what  they  deemed  "  the  devil's  mark  "  upon  her 
back. 

About  three  weeks  afterwards,  two  other  women,  re 
ligious  and  of  good  character,  named  Corey  and  Nurse 
were  complained  of  as  witches,  and  brought  to  an 


SALEM   WITCHCRAFT.  227 

examination ;  they  were  then  sent  to  prison,  although 
they  denied  the  charge.  Such  was  the  infatuation, 
that  a  child  of  Sarah  Good,  not  more  than  four  or  five 
years  old,  was  also  committed  as  a  witch,  being  ac- 
cused of  biting  some  of  the  afflicted,  who  showed 
the  print  of  small  teeth  on  their  arms.  Grown  people 
now  began  to  show  a  desire  to  participate  in  the  noto- 
riety enjoyed  by  the  afflicted  children ;  and  the  wife 
of  Thomas  Putnam  complained  of  Nurse,  as  torment- 
ing her.  On  the  third  of  April,  Mr.  Parris,  who  took 
up  the  matter  with  the  most  fiery  zeal,  preached  a 
sermon  from  the  text,  "  Have  I  not  chosen  you 
twelve,  and  one  of  you  is  a  devil  ? "  At  these  words, 
Sarah  Cloyse,  supposing  the  allusion  to  be  made  to 
Nurse,  who  was  her  sister,  left  the  meeting ;  she  was 
therefore  complained  of  as  a  witch,  examined,  and 
committed.  Elizabeth  Procter  was  accused  about  the 
same  time.  Her  husband  accompanied  her  to  the 
examination ;  for  this  he  was  charged  with  witchcraft, 
and  subsequently  lost  his  life. 

The  matter  had  now  acquired  a  fearful  interest. 
Danforth,  the  deputy  governor,  and  five  other  magis- 
trates, came  to  Salem.  It  was  a  great  day;  several 
ministers  were  present.  Parris  officiated,  and  it  is 
plain,  by  his  own  record,  that  he  elicited  and  brought 
forward  every  accusation  in  his  power.  This  man 
was  evidently  not  wholly  guided  by  a  blind  zeal  for 
the  performance  of  what  he  considered  his  duty,  but 
also  actuated  by  a  vindictive  spirit  against  some  of  the 
individuals  with  whom  he  had  quarrelled. 

He  may  have  been  to  some  extent  self-duped ;  for  a 
man  whose  mind  is  ill  regulated,  easily  persuades 


228  SALEM    WITCHCRAFT. 

himself  that  his  enemies  are  allies  of  the  devil. 
There  are  few,  perhaps,  who  ever  make  so  gross  a 
display  of  their  prejudices ;  yet  there  are  thousands, 
even  at  the  present  day,  who,  in  condemning  those 
they  hate,  manifest  the  same  kind  of  hallucination  as 
that  which  affected  this  great  mover  in  the  delusion  at 
Salem.  The  credulity  of  the  magistrates,  who  had 
assembled  for  the  trial  of  the  accused,  passed  all 
bounds ;  and  their  singular  method  of  making  the 
investigations,  led  to  the  most  deplorable  results. 
Instead  of  proceeding  with  caution  and  impartiality, 
entertaining  a  prudent  distrust  of  the  witnesses,  sift- 
ing their  testimony,  and  putting  them  upon  cross- 
examination,  they  made  use  of  leading  questions,  put 
words  into  their  mouths,  and  suffered  others  to  do  the 
same.  The  following  is  a  specimen  of  the  proceed- 
ings at  a  trial  involving  questions  of  life  and  death : 

Q.    John,  who  hurt  you  ? 

A.    Goody  Procter  first,  and  then  Goody  Cloyse. 

Q.    What  did  she  do  to  you  ? 

A.    She  brought  the  book  to  me. 

Q.  John,  tell  the  truth ;  who  hurts  you  ?  have  you 
been  hurt  ? 

A.    The  first  was  a  gentlewoman  I  saw. 

Q.    But  who  hurt  you  next  ? 

A.  Goody  Procter.  She  choked  me  and  brought 
the  book. 

Q.    Where  did  she  take  hold  of  you  ? 

A.   Upon  my  throat  to  stop  my  breath. 

Q.   What  did  this  Goody  Cloyse  do  ? 

A.    She  pinched  me  till  the  blood  came. 

[Here  one  of  the  afflicted  fell  into  a  fit.] 


SALEM  WITCHCRAFT.  229 

Q.  Abigail  Williams !  Did  you  see  a  company 
at  Mr.  Parris'  house  eat  and  drink  ? 

A.    Yes,  sir ;  that  was  their  sacrament. 

Q.    How  many  were  there  ? 

A.  About  forty ;  and  Goody  Cloyse  and  Goody 
Good  were  their  deacons. 

Q.   What  was  it  ? 

A.  They  said  it  was  our  blood,  and  they  had  it 
twice  that  day. 

Q.   Mary  Walcot — have  you  seen  a  white  man  ? 

A.   Yes,  sir,  a  great  many  times. 

Q.   What  sort  of  a  man  was  he  ? 

A.  A  fine,  grave  man;  and  when  he  came,  he 
made  all  the  witches  to  tremble.  [Abigail  Williams 
confirmed  the  same,  and  said  they  had  such  a  sight  at 
Deacon  Ingersoll's.] 

Q.    Who  was  at  Deacon  Ingersoll's  then  ? 

A.  Goody  Cloyse,  Goody  Corey,  Goody  Nurse 
and  Goody  Good.  [Then  Sarah  Cloyse  asked  for 
water  and  "  sat  down  as  one  seized  with  a  dying  faint- 
ing fit."  Several  of  the  afflicted  fell  into  fits,  and 
some  of  them  cried  out,  "  Oh !  her  spirit  is  gone  to 
prison  to  her  sister  Nurse."] 

Q.  What  do  you  say,  Goody  Procter,  to  these 
things  ? 

A.  I  take  God  to  be  my  witness  that  I  know  no- 
thing of  it,  no  more  than  the  child  unborn. 

During  the  examination  of  Elizabeth  Procter, 
"  Abigail  Williams  and  Ann  Putnam  both  made  offer 
to  strike  at  said  Procter:  but  when  Abigail's  hand 
came  near,  it  opened,  whereas  it  was  made  up  into  a 
fist  before,  and  came  down  exceeding  lightly  as  it 
vii.— 20 


230  SALEM  WITCHCRAFT. 

drew  near  to  said  Procter,  and  at  length,  with  open, 
extended  fingers,  touched  Procter's  hood  very  lightly. 
Immediately  Abigail  cried  out,  '  her  fingers !  her  fin- 
gers !  her  fingers  burned ! '  and  Ann  Putnam  took  on 
most  grievously,  of  her  head,  and  sunk  down." 

No  wonder,  as  Hutchinson  remarks,  the  whole 
country  was  thrown  into  consternation,  when  persons 
of  sober  lives  and  unblemished  characters  were  com- 
mitted to  prison  upon  evidence  like  this.  Nobody 
was  safe.  The  most  effectual  way  to  prevent  an 
accusation  was  to  become  an  accuser:  accordingly, 
the  number  of  afflicted  increased  every*  day,  and  the 
number  of  accused  in  proportion,  who  in  general  per- 
sisted in  declaring  their  innocence,  but  being  strongly 
urged  to  give  glory  to  God  by  confession,  and  it  being 
represented  to  them,  by  their  friends,  that  this  was 
the  only  way  to  save  their  lives,  some  were  brought 
to  own  their  guilt.  The  confessions  multiplied  the 
witches:  new  companions  were  always  mentioned, 
who  were  immediately  sent  for  and  examined.  A 
monstrous  doctrine  now  obtained  currency;  "the  gal- 
lows was  to  be  set  up,  not  for  those  who  professed 
themselves  witches,  but  for  those  who  rebuked  the 
delusion :"  not  so  much  for  the  guilty  as  for  the  un- 
believing. The  whole  community  was  now  in  a  state 
of  terror  and  alarm,  which  it  is  impossible  adequately 
to  describe. 

Examinations  and  commitments  were  of  daily  occur- 
rence. The  purest  life,  the  strictest  integrity,  the 
most  solemn  asseverations  of  innocence,  were  of  no 
avail:  husband  was  torn  from  Avife,  parents  from 
children,  brother  from  sister ;  in  some  cases  the  un- 


SALEM  WITCHCRAFT.  233 

happy  victims  saw  in  their  accusers  their  nearest  and 
dearest  friends,  sometimes  even  a  wife,  or  a  daughter, 
who  took  these  steps  with  the  hope  of  saving  them- 
selves. The  jails  were  crowded,  and  more  than  a 
hundred  women,  most  of  them  of  fair  characters  and 
of  the  most  reputable  families  in  Salem,  Beverly, 
Andover,  Billerica  and  other  towns,  were  apprehended 
and  committed  to  prison. 

At  the  trial  of  Bridget  Bishop,  John  Cook  testified 
that  "  about  five  or  six  years  before,  one  morning 
about  sunrise,  he  was  in  his  chamber,  and  was  as- 
saulted by  the  shape  of  the  prisoner,  who  looked  on 
him,  grinned  at  him,  and  very  much  hurt  him  with  a 
blow  on  the  side  of  the  head ;  and  that  on  the  same 
day  about  noon,  the  same  shape  walked  into  the  room 
where  he  was,  and  an  apple  strangely  flew  out  of  his 
hand  into  the  lap  of  his  mother."  "  Samuel  Gray  tes- 
tified that  about  fourteen  years  before,  he  waked  in 
the  night,  and  saw  the  room  full  of  light,  and  presently 
discovered  a  woman  between  the  cradle  and  the  bed- 
side, who  looked  upon  him.  He  rose,  and  she  van- 
ished, though  he  found  all  the  doors  fast.  Looking 
out  at  the  entry  door,  he  saw  the  same  woman  again, 
and  said,  '  In  God's  name,  what  do  you  come  for  ? ' 
He  went  to  bed,  and  had  the  same  woman  again  as- 
saulting him.  The  child  in  the  cradle  gave  a  great 
screech,  and  the  phantom  disappeared.  It  was  long 
before  the  child  could  be  quieted,  and,  although  it 
was  a  very  likely,  thriving  child,  yet  from  this  time 
it  pined  away  and  died,  in  a  sad  condition.  He  knew 
not  Bishop,  but  when  he  saw  her,  after  this,  he  was 
sure  that  the  above  was  her  spectre."  John  Ely  and 


232  SALEM  WITCHCRAFT. 

his  wife  testified  that  he  bought  a  swine  of  the  pris- 
oner's husband,  and  paid  the  price  to  a  creditor  of  his. 
The  prisoner,  being  angry  at  being  thus  prevented 
from  fingering  the  money,  quarrelled  with  Ely,  after 
which  the  animal  was  taken  with  strange  fits,  jump- 
ing and  knocking  its  head  against  the  fence.  Wher- 
upon  a  neighbor  said  she  believed  the  creature  was 
"  overlooked,"  and  sundry  other  circumstances  con- 
curred which  made  the  deponents  believe  that  Bishop 
had  bewitched  the  animal. 

John  Lander  testified  that  upon  some  little  con- 
troversy with  Bishop  about  her  fowls,  going  well  to 
bed,  he  awaked  in  the  night  by  moonlight,  and 
clearly  saw  the  likeness  of  this  woman  grievously 
oppressing  him.  After  this,  being  at  home  on  a 
Lord's  day,  with  the  doors  shut  about  him,  he  saw  a 
black  pig  approach  him :  he  attempted  to  give  it  a 
kick,  on  which  it  vanished  away.  Immediately  after, 
sitting  down,  he  saw  a  black  thing  jump  in  at  the 
window,  and  come  and  stand  before  him.  The  body 
was  like  that  of  a  monkey,  the  feet  like  a  cock's,  and 
the  face  much  like  a  man's.  He  being  so  extremely 
affrighted  that  he  could  not  speak,  this  monster  ad- 
dressed him  thus  :  "  I  am  a  messenger  sent  unto  you, 
for  I  understand  that  you  are  in  some  trouble  of  mind, 
and  if  you  will  be  ruled  by  me,  you  shall  want  for 
nothing  in  this  world."  Whereupon  he  endeavored 
to  clap  his  hands  upon  it,  but  could  feel  no  substance, 
and  it  jumped  out  of  the  window  again,  but  imme- 
diately came  in  at  the  porch,  though  the  doors  were 
shut,  and  said,  "  You  had  better  take  my  counsel." 
He  then  struck  at  it  with  a  stick,  but  hit  only  the 


SALEM   WITCHCRAFT.  233 

groundsel,  and  broke  the  stick.  The  arm  with  which 
he  struck  was  presently  disabled,  and  the  spectre  van- 
ished away.  He  then  went  out  the  back  door,  and 
spied  this  Bishop  in  her  orchard,  but  he  had  not  power 
to  advance  one  step  toward  her.  He  returned  into 
his  house,  and  was  again  accosted  by  the  monster, 
which  was  now  going  to  fly  at  him  ;  but  he  cried  out, 
"  The  whole  armor  of  God  be  between  me  and  you  !  " 
on  which  the  goblin  sprang  back  and  flew  over  the 
apple  tree,  shaking  down  many  apples,  and  flinging 
dirt  against  the  deponent,  who  was  struck  dumb,  and 
so  remained  for  three  days.  Other  persons  testified 
to  many  supernatural  things,  in  which  the  prisoner  had 
borne  a  part ;  and  the  members  of  the  court  themselves 
appear  to  have  been  witnesses  against  her,  for  we  are 
positively  informed  that  as  she  was  passing,  attended 
by  a  guard,  near  the  great  meeting-house  of  Salem, 
she  gave  a  look  toward  the  house,  and  immediately  a 
demon,  invisibly  entering  the  meeting-house,  tore  down 
a  part  of  it.  Thus  the  monstrous  fictions  given  as  evi- 
dence, were  mixed  up  with  the  most  frivolous  trifles. 
One  man  testified  to  the  witchcraft  of  another,  because, 
having  received  money  from  him,  presently  it  was 
gone.  The  learned  court  never  thought  of  inquiring 
whether  this  wiseacre  had  not  a  hole  in  his  pocket. 

The  trial  of  George  Burroughs  affords  one  of  the 
clearest  indications  that  individual  malignity  had  a 
share  in  these  horrible  persecutions.  The  accused 
was  a  man  of  ability  and  education,  and  had  formerly 
been  a  minister  in  Salem  village.  There  was  a  quar- 
rel between  him  and  Parris,  the  original  instigator  of 
the  delusion,  and  moreover  Burroughs  openly  denied 
20* 


234  SALEM   WITCHCRAFT. 

the  existence  of  witchcraft.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  these  circumstances  had  a  predominant  influence 
in  procuring  his  condemnation.  The  evidence  against 
him  was  of  a  very  loose  and  general  nature,  consist- 
ing, in  a  great  measure,  of  things  alleged  to  have 
been  said  or  done  by  his  shape  or  apparition;  and 
attempts  were  made  in  this  way  to  prove  that  he  had 
murdered  two  wives  and  other  persons.  It  was  con- 
sidered strong  proof  of  witchcraft,  that,  being  a  small 
man,  he  possessed  such  strength  as  to  be  able  to  lift 
a  barrel  of  molasses,  and  to  hold  a  musket  of  seven 
feet  barrel  at  arm's  length.  On  his  trial,  he  utterly 
denied  that  there  \vas  any  truth  in  the  popular  notions 
of  witchcraft,  which  alone  was  sufficient  to  condemn 
him.  At  his  execution,  Cotton  Mather  attended  on 
horseback,  and  viewed  the  spectacle  with  great  exul- 
tation. Many  of  the  spectators  were  affected  to  tears, 
and  it  seemed  as  if  they  would  hinder  the  execution ; 
but  Mather  addressed  the  crowd,  abused  the  victim,  and 
asserted  that  the  devil  had  often  been  transformed  into 
an  angel  of  light.  Twenty  others  shared  the  fate  of 
Burroughs  ;  a  hundred  and  fifty  more  were  in  prison 
awaiting  trial ;  two  hundred  more  were  under  accusa- 
tion ;  and  above  a  hundred  and  fifty  had  been  tortured 
or  terrified  into  confession. 

Where  was  this  to  end  ?  This  question  seems  at 
last  to  have  suggested  itself  to  reflecting  persons  as 
the  frenzy  mounted  to  its  utmost  height,  and  the  evil 
wrought  its  own  cure  by  the  extravagant  length  to 
which  it  had  run.  A  madness  so  wild  could  not  but 
spend  itself  in  a  short  time.  After  raging  for  fifteen 
months,  these  atrocities  began  to  appear  in  their  true 


SALEBI   WITCHCRAFT.  235 

light,  and  the  delusion  abated.  The  minds  of  men 
were  sobered  down  to  cool  reason,  the  spell  was 
broken,  and  witchcraft  was  no  more.  People  gazed 
at  each  other  in  astonishment,  as  if  they  had  just 
waked  from  a  horrible  nightmare ;  universal  shame 
and  remorse  succeeded  to  this  storm  of  fanaticism. 
Thus  terminated  a  scene  of  epidemic  madness  and 
delusion,  which  excited  the  astonishment  of  the  civil- 
ized world,  and  exhibited  a  fearful  picture  of  the  weak- 
ness of  human  nature. 

Most  of  the  actors  in  this  terrible  drama  atoned  by 
the  bitterest  remorse  and  the  most  contrite  repentance 
for  their  deplorable  delusion.  Parris,  the  minister, 
was  driven  from  among  his  people;  the  humblest 
confession  could  not  save  him.  Noyes,  a  minister  of 
Salem,  another  chief  agent,  but  less  guilty  than  Parris, 
made  a  full  and  sincere  confession,  asked  pardon  of 
his  people,  and  was  forgiven.  Sewall,  one  of  the 
judges,  made  a  confession  of  his  error  in  the  face  of  a 
public  congregation.  Cotton  Mather,  one  of  the  most 
culpable  of  all  the  abettors  of  this  persecution,  was 
one  of  the  last  to  repent,  if  indeed  he  ever  repented. 
This  selfish  aftd  intolerant  bigot  resisted  all  the  en- 
deavors of  wiser  men  to  dispel  the  delusion,  and  de- 
clared his  determination  to  "  box  it  about  among  his 
neighbors  till  it  came  he  knew  not  where  at  last." 
He  attempted  to  get  up  a  case  of  witchcraft  in  his  own 
parish ;  but  the  people  of  Boston  were  saved  from  the 
evils  which  his  fanaticism  might  have  induced,  by  the 
good  sense  and  courage  of  several  citizens  of  the 
town,  among  whom  was  a  merchant  named  Robert 
Calef,  who  published  a  volume,  exposing  the  impos« 
ture  and  wickedness  of  the  whole  business. 


236  SALEM   WITCHCRAFT. 

One  of  the  most  unaccountable  of  the  circumstan- 
ces attending  these  extraordinary  events,  is  the  fact 
that  none  of  the  witnesses  who  had  so  unscrupulously 
sworn  away  the  lives  of  innocent  persons  were  ever 
brought  to  punishment.  Perhaps  this  arose  from  the 
feeling  that  the  past  could  not  be  repaired,  that  the 
dead  were  beyond  recall,  and  none  wished  to  awaken  a 
recollection  of  such  horrors.  Hutchinson  affirms  that 
for  many  years  afterward,  the  opinion  maintained  its 
ground  that  there  was  something  preternatural  in  this 
strange  affair,  and  that  an  epidemic  disorder,  inexpli- 
cable in  its  nature,  really  affected  both  the  bodies  and 
imagination  of  the  afflicted  persons.  This  is,  perhaps, 
as  charitable  and  rational  a  method  as  we  can  devise 
for  solving  this  strange  mystery. 


GENERAL  PUTNAM. 

OF  the  character  of  a  New  Englander  "  of  the  old 
school,"  we  can  hardly  give  a  better  illustration  than 
in  the  history  of  this  well-known  individual,  or  "  Old 
Put,"  as  he  was  familiarly  termed,  from  his  intrepid 
temper,  homely  manners,  and  somewhat  eccentric 
disposition.  He  was  born  in  that  part  of  Salem, 
in  Massachusetts,  which  now  constitutes  the  town 
of  Danvers,  January  7th,  1718.  He  showed  early 
indications  of  a  strong  mind;  but  he  enjoyed  only  such 
scanty  means  of  school  education  as  at  that  early  pe- 
riod lay  within  the  reach  of  the  humblest  class  of  our 
citizens. 

While  a  boy,  he  was  remarkable  for  strength  of 
body,  agility,  and  skill  in  athletic  sports.  He  was 
brought  up  to  the  plough  ;  and  having  married  a  wife 
during  his  minority,  he  removed  from  Salem  to  Pom- 
fret,  in  Connecticut,  in  1739,  where  he  purchased  a 
tract  of  land,  and  undertook  the  clearing  and  cultiva- 
tion of  a  farm.  A  century  ago,  this  territory,  now 
the  heart  of  the  populous  and  thriving  state  of  Con- 
necticut, was  exposed  to  constant  depredation  from, 
hordes  of  wolves,  which  issued  from  the  thick  forest 
that  overspread  the  country,  and  laid  waste  the  fields 
and  cattle-yards  of  the  settlers.  The  following  adven- 
ture of  the  hero  of  our  story  has  become  one  of  the 
classic  legends  of  our  land ;  it  is  so  well  related  by 


238 


GENERAL  PUTNAM. 


GENERAL  PUTNAM. 


GENERAL   PUTNAM.  239 

Humphreys,  in  his  biography,  that  we  shall  give  it  in 
his  own  words. 

"  In  a  single  night,  one  of  the  inhabitants  of  Pomfret 
had  seventy  fine  sheep  and  goats  killed,  besides  many 
lambs  and  kids  wounded.  This  havoc  was  committed 
by  a  she-wolf,  which,  with  her  annual  troop  of  whelps, 
had  for  several  years  infested  the  vicinity.  The 
young  were  commonly  destroyed  by  the  vigilance  of 
the  hunter,  but  the  old  one  was  too  sagacious  to  come 
within  the  reach  of  gun  shot.  Upon  being  closely 
pursued,  she  would  generally  fly  to  the  western  woods, 
and  return  the  next  winter  with  another  litter  of 
whelps.  This  wolf  at  length  became  such  an  intol- 
erable nuisance,  that  Mr.  Putnam  entered  into  a 
combination  with  five  of  his  neighbors,  to  hunt  alter- 
nately until  they  could  destroy  her.  Two,  by  rotation, 
were  to  be  constantly  in  pursuit.  It  was  known  that, 
having  lost  the  toes  from  one  foot  by  a  steel  trap,  she 
made  one  track  shorter  than  the  other.  By  this  ves- 
tige the  pursuers  recognized  in  a  light  snow  the  route 
of  this  pernicious  animal.  Having  followed  her  to 
the  Connecticut  river,  and  found  she  had  turned  in  a 
direct  course  towards  Pomfret,  they  immediately  re- 
turned, and  by  ten  o'clock  the  next  morning  the 
bloodhounds  had  driven  her  into  a  den,  about  ten 
miles  distant  from  the  house  of  Mr.  Putnam. 

"  The  people  soon  collected  with  dogs,  guns,  straw, 
fire  and  sulphur,  to  attack  the  common  enemy.  With 
this  apparatus,  several  unsuccessful  efforts  were  made 
to  force  her  from  the  den.  The  hounds  came  back 
badly  wounded,  and  refused  to  return ;  the  smoke  of 
blazing  straw  had  no  effect,  nor  did  the  fumes  of 


240  GENERAL   PUTNAM. 

burnt  brimstone,  with  which  the  cavern  was  filled, 
compel  her  to  quit  her  retirement.  Wearied  with 
such  fruitless  attempts,  which  had  brought  the  time  to 
ten  o'clock  at  night,  Mr.  Putnam  tried  once  more  to 
make  his  dog  enter,  but  in  vain ;  he  proposed  to  his 
negro  man  to  go  down  into  the  cavern  and  shoot 
the  wolf — the  negro  declined  the  hazardous  service. 
Then  it  was  that  the  master,  angry  at  the  disappoint- 
ment, and  declaring  that  he  was  ashamed  to  have  a 
coward  in  his  family,  resolved  himself  to  destroy  this 
ferocious  beast,  lest  she  should  escape  through  some 
unknown  fissure  of  the  rock.  His  neighbors  strongly 
remonstrated  against  the  perilous  enterprise ;  but  he, 
knowing  that  wild  animals  are  intimidated  by  fire, 
and  having  provided  several  strips  of  birch  bark,  the 
only  combustible  material  which  he  could  obtain  that 
would  afford  light  in  this  deep  and  darksome  cave, 
prepared  for  the  descent. 

"  Having  accordingly  divested  himself  of  his  coat 
and  waistcoat,  and  having  a  long  rope  fastened  round 
his  legs,  by  which  he  might  be  pulled  back  at  a  con- 
certed signal,  he  entered,  head  foremost,  with  the 
olazing  torch  in  his  hand.  The  aperture  of  the  den, 
on  the  east  side  of  a  high  ledge  of  rocks,  is  about  two 
feet  square ;  from  thence  it  descends  obliquely  fifteen 
feet;  then  running  horizontally  about  ten  more,  it 
ascends  gradually  sixteen  feet  towards  its  termination. 
The  sides  of  this  subterraneous  cavity  are  composed 
of  smooth  and  solid  rocks,  which  seem  to  have  been 
divided  from  each  other  by  some  former  earthquake. 
The  top  and  bottom  are  also  of  stone,  and  the  entrance 
in  winter,  being  covered  with  ice,  is  exceedingly  slip- 


GENERAL   PUTNAM.  241 

pery.  It  is  in  no  place  high  enough  for  a  man  to 
raise  himself  upright,  nor  in  any  part  more  than  three 
feet  in  width.  Having  groped  his  passage  to  the  hori- 
zontal part  of  the  den,  the  most  terrifying  darknes? 
appeared  in  front  of  the  dim  circle  of  light  afforded  by 
his  torch ;  it  was  silent  as  the  house  of  death ;  none 
hut  monsters  of  the  desert  had  ever  before  explored 
this  solitary  mansion  of  horror.  Cautiously  proceed- 
ing onward,  he  came  to  the  ascent,  which  he  slowly 
mounted  on  his  hands  and  knees,  until  he  discovered 
the  glaring  eyeballs  of  the  wolf,  who  was  sitting  at 
the  extremity  of  the  cavern.  Startled  at  the  sight  of 
fire,  she  gnashed  her  teeth  and  gave  a  sullen  growl. 
As  soon  as  he  had  made  the  necessary  discovery,  he 
kicked  the  rope  as  a  signal  for  pulling  him  out. 

"  The  people  at  the  mouth  of  the  den,  who  had 
listened  with  painful  anxiety,  hearing  the  growling  of 
the  wolf,  and  supposing  their  friend  to  be  in  the  most 
imminent  danger,  drew  him  forth  with  such  celerity, 
that  his  shirt  was  stripped  over  his  head,  and  his  skin 
severely  lacerated.  After  he  had  adjusted  his  clothes 
and  loaded  his  gun  with  nine  buck-shot,  holding  a 
torch  in  one  hand  and  a  musket  in  the  other,  he  de- 
scended the  second  time.  When  he  drew  nearer 
than  before,  the  wolf,  assuming  a  still  more  fierce 
and  terrible  appearance,  howling,  rolling  her  ejes, 
snapping  her  teeth,  and  dropping  her  head  between 
her  legs,  was  evidently  on  the  point  of  springing  at 
him.  At  this  critical  instant,  he  levelled  and  fired 
at  her  head.  Stunned  with  the  shock,  and  suffocated 
with  the  smoke,  he  immediately  found  himself  drawn 
out  of  the  cave.  But  having  refreshed  himself,  and 
P  vn.— 21 


242  GENERAL    PUTNAM. 

permitted  the  smoke  to  dissipate,  he  went  down  the 
third  time.  Once  more  he  came  within  sight  of  the 
wolf,  who  appearing  very  passive,  he  applied  the 
torch  to  her  nose,  and  perceiving  her  dead,  he  took 
hold  of  her  ears,  and  then  kicking  the  rope,  the  people 
above,  with  no  small  exultation,  dragged  them  both 
out  together." 

The  hostilities  commonly  known  as  the  "  old  French 
war,"  brought  Putnam  into  public  service.  In  1755, 
he  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  a  company  of 
troops  raised  in  Connecticut,  and  joined  the  army 
on  its  march  to  Crown  Point,  then  occupied  by  the 
French.  In  this  campaign,  Putnam  encountered  nu- 
merous adventures,  in  which  his  courage,  ingenuity, 
and  presence  of  mind  were  highly  conspicuous.  The 
dangers  to  which  he  was  exposed  may  be  conjectured 
from  the  fact,  that,  on  one  occasion,  after  making  his 
way  into  the  midst  of  the  enemy's  camp  in  the  dark- 
ness of  the  night,  and  escaping  through  a  shower  of 
random  shots,  he  discovered,  the  next  morning,  four- 
teen bullet-holes  in  his  blanket,  and  another  through 
his  canteen.  At  Sabbath-day  Point,  on  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  Putnam  and  Captain  Rogers,  with  a  hundred 
men,  defeated  a  body  of  three  hundred  of  the  enemy, 
with  great  slaughter.  One  day,  General  Webb,  wish- 
ing for.  intelligence  of  the  enemy,  sent  out  Putnam, 
with  five  men,  for  the  purpose  of  capturing  some  one 
who  could  give  the  desired  information.  They  con- 
cealed themselves  in  the  tall  grass  near  a  road,  and  in 
a  short  time  saw  a  Frenchman  and  an  Indian  pass. 
Putnam  sprang  up  and  gave  chase,  ordering  bis  men 
to  follow.  He  overtook  and  seized  the  Frenchman, 


GENERAL    PUTNAM.  243 

who  was  compelled  to  surrender ;  but  on  looking 
round,  none  of  Putnam's  men  were  seen,  and  the 
Frenchman  began  to  resist.  The  former,  finding  him- 
self betrayed,  and  two  to  one  against  him,  let  go  his 
hold,  stepped  back,  and  snapped  his  gun  at  the  French- 
man, but  the  piece  missing  fire,  he  was  compelled  to 
take  to  his  heels.  The  Frenchman  chased  him  back 
to  his  men,  who  suddenly  started  up  from  the  grass, 
and  the  pursuer  was  forced  to  retreat  in  his  turn. 
Putnam,  indignant  at  the  behavior  of  his  followers, 
discharged  them  from  his  company  immediately.  It 
appears  that  they  had  taken  offence  at  a  reprimand 
which  he  had  bestowed  upon  them  a  short  time  pre- 
vious, and  had  adopted  this  method  of  wreaking  their 
vengeance  upon  him. 

His  services  during  the  campaign  gained  him  the 
rank  of  a  major;  and  in  the  following  year  he  distin- 
guished himself  by  a  brilliant  and  dashing  achieve- 
ment at  Fort  Edward.  A  most  barbarous  massacre 
had  been  perpetrated  by  the  enemy  at  Fort  William 
Henry.  That  place  had  been  surrounded  by  a  strong 
force  of  French  and  savages,  under  the  Marquis  de 
Montcalm,  and  surrendered  upon  terms.  But  the 
savages,  disregarding  the  capitulation,  tomahawked 
every  man  and  woman  they  met,  nor  could  all  the 
efforts  of  the  French  commander  prevent  the  butchery 
of  the  greater  part  of  the  garrison,  and  above  a  hun- 
dred women.  General  Lyman,  who  commanded  at 
Fort  Edward,  deemed  it  necessary  to  strengthen  his 
position,  and  ordered  out  a  hundred  and  fifty  pioneers 
to  cut  timber.  •  Captain  Little,  with  fifty  British  regu- 
lars, was  detached  to  cover  them,  and  took  post  at  the 


244  GENERAL    PUTNAM. 

skirt  of  a  thick  swamp  not  far  from  the  fort.  For 
some  days  the  men  pursued  their  work  unmolested, 
and  no  signs  of  the  enemy  were  perceived.  One 
morning,  at  daybreak,  a  sentinel  had  his  attention 
attracted  by  what  he  imagined  to  be  a  number  of 
birds  which  darted  with  amazing  swiftness  out  of  the 
swamp  and  disappeared  in  the  air  over  his  head. 
The  singular  shape,  and  most  extraordinary  celerity 
of  these  birds,  excited  his  curiosity,  and  he  watched 
their  flight  with  great  attention.  All  at  once,  he  was 
startled  to  see  one  of  these  winged  messengers  strike 
the  limb  of  a  tree  and  stick  fast.  It  was  an  Indian 
arrow !  The  sentinel  gave  the  alarm,  and  a  cloud  of 
savages  burst  from  their  cover  in  the  swamp,  and  fell 
with  their  tomahawks  upon  the  wood-cutters.  The 
covering  party  flew  to  their  relief,  and,  by  pouring  in 
a  prompt  and  well-directed  fire,  checked  the  savages 
in  their  onset,  and  enabled  the  unarmed  laborers  to 
retire  to  the  fort. 

Captain  Little,  finding  his  small  party  almost  over- 
powered by  numbers,  sent  to  General  Lyman  for 
assistance ;  but  that  officer,  believing  that  the  main 
body  of  the  enemy  was  in  the  neighborhood,  ready 
for  a  general  assault,  ordered  in  the  outposts  and 
closed  the  gates  of  the  fort.  Putnam,  with  his  com- 
pany of  Rangers,  was  stationed  on  an  island  near  the 
garrison.  Hearing  the  musketry,  and  being  informed 
that  his  friend  Captain  Little  was  in  the  greatest  dan- 
ger, he  plunged  into  the  river  at  the  head  of  his  men, 
and  waded  through  the  water  toward  the  spot  where 
he  heard  the  firing.  His  route  passed  so  near  the 
fort,  that  the  soldiers  espied  him,  and  Lyman,  imag- 


GENERAL   PUTNAM.  245 

ining  that  these  brave  men  were  marching  to  certain 
destruction,  mounted  the  parapet,  and  ordered  Putnam 
to  halt.  Instead  of  complying,  the  major  replied  with 
a  hasty  apology,  and  marched  onward  with  all  haste. 
He  soon  arrived  at  the  scene  of  action,  and  found  the 
regulars  obstinately  maintaining  their  ground  against 
a  vast  superiority  of  assailants.  His  timely  arrival 
and  prompt  action  saved  this  gallant  band.  Putnam 
immediately  gave  orders  to  his  men  to  rush  impetu- 
ously with  loud  shouts  upon  the  enemy.  This  order 
was  gallantly  obeyed,  and  the  savages  instantly  took 
to  flight,  and  were  pursued  during  the  whole  day  with 
great  loss.  It  does  not  appear  that  Putnam  was  ever 
brought  to  account  for  disobeying  the  orders  of  his 
general.  The  success  atoned  for  the  offence,  and 
Lyman  perhaps  was  sensible  that  his  inferior  in  com- 
mand was  the  better  soldier  of  the  two. 

During  the  same  year,  Putnam  defeated  a  large 
body  of  savages,  who  attacked  him  in  his  intrenchment 
on  Lake  George.  In  the  winter  which  followed,  he 
was  in  garrison  at  Fort  Edward,  when  a  fire  broke 
out  in  the  barracks  at  that  place.  Three  hundred 
barrels  of  powder  were  in  the  magazine,  which  was 
built  of  wood,  and  stood  only  twelve  feet  distant  from 
the  building.  The  fire  had  made  great  progress  when 
first  discovered,  and  Colonel  Haviland,  the  commander 
of  the  fort,  endeavored  in  vain  to  demolish  the  bar- 
jacks  by  discharging  several  pieces  of  heavy  artillery 
against  them.  Putnam,  who  was  stationed  on  an 
island  in  the  river,  hastened  to  the  fort,  and  arrived 
at  the  moment  when  the  fire  reached  the  extremity  of 
the  barracks  adjoining  the  magazine.  Mounting  a 
21* 


246  GENERAL   PUTNAM. 

ladder  to  the  eaves,  he  endeavored  to  extinguish  the 
flames  by  throwing  upon  them  buckets  of  water.  He 
stood  enveloped  in  smoke,  so  near  the  fire  that  a  pair 
of  blanket  mittens  were  burnt  entirely  off  his  hands. 
He  was  supplied  with  another,  dipped  in  water,  and 
maintained  his  post  till  the  commander,  fearing  he 
would  perish  in  the  flames,  ordered  him  to  descend ; 
but  he  entreated  that  he  might  be  allowed  to  continue 
his  exertions,  since  destruction  must  inevitably  ensue 
should  they  allow  the  fire  to  continue  its  progress. 
The  colonel,  struck  with  his  undaunted  resolution 
and  perseverance,  consented,  and  although  the  flames 
continued  to  advance,  he  forbade  any.  more  effects  to 
be  carried  out  of  the  fort,  and  exhorted  the  men  to 
redoubled  exertions,  exclaiming,  "  If  we  must  be  blown 
up,  we  will  all  go  together ! "  Putnam  remained*  on 
the  ladder  till  the  building  began  to  fall,  when  he 
descended,  and  occupied  himself  in  throwing  water 
upon  the  magazine,  the  outer  planks  of  which  were 
now  burnt  aWay,  leaving  only  a  single  thickness  of 
timber  between  the  fire  and  the  powder.  The  uni- 
versal trepidation  at  this  extreme  danger  may  easily 
be  conceived,  but  Putnam,  still  undaunted  and  self- 
possessed,  applied  himself  to  the  work  of  checking  the 
flames  for  the  space  of  an  hour  and  a  half,  until  the 
danger  was  over.  The  clothes  were  burnt  from  his 
body ;  he  was  blistered  from  head  to  foot,  and  the 
skin  was  entirely  taken  from  his  hands.  It  was  a_ 
month  before  he  recovered. 

Putnam's  intrepidity  was  soon  after  displayed  in  an 
incident  of  a  different  character.  Being  one  day  in  a 
boat  with  five  men  on  the  Hudson,  just  above  the 


GENERAL   PUTNAM.  247 

rapids,  he  was  surprised  by  a  large  Indian  force.  His 
only  alternative  was  to  remain  and  be  cut  to  pieces, 
or  to  go  down  the  falls  with  an  almost  absolute  cer- 
tainty of  being  drowned.  He  did  not  hesitate  a 
moment  to  push  off.  The  Indians  were  upon  him  so 
quickly,  that  they  killed  one  of  his  men  who  had 
strayed  a  short  distance  from  the  rest  on  shore,  and 
before  the  boat  could  be  got  under  way,  a  shower  of 
bullets  whistled  round  her.  The  rapid  current  of  the 
river  soon  carried  her  beyond  the  reach  of  the  enemy's 
shot,  but  the  crew  speedily  found  themselves  in  the 
midst  of  dangers  equally  great.  The  rapids  were  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  in  length,  full  of  shelving  rocks  and 
whirling  eddies,  among  which  it  seemed  impossible  to 
pass  without  a  miracle.  Putnam  took  the  helm,  and 
with  the  utmost  coolness  guided  the  boat  as  she  shot 
swiftly  along  in  the  midst  of  these  dangers.  Every 
moment  it  was  necessary  to  vary  the  course  to  avoid 
the  shelves  and  whirlpools.  The  savages  with  amaze- 
ment beheld  the  boat  now  mounting  the  billows,  and 
now  plunging  abruptly  downward,  and  now  turning 
round  and  round,  skilfully  veering  to  the  right  and  left 
among  sharp  points  of  rock,  and  shooting  like  an  arrow 
through  the  contracted  strait  that  afforded  a  chance  of 
escape  into  the  smooth  stream  below.  The  awe-struck 
and  superstitious  sons  of  the  forest  now  believed  that 
the  daring  leader  whom  they  had  endeavored  to  cap- 
ture, bore  a  "  charmed  life,"  and  imagined  that  it 
would  be  an  offence  to  the  Great  Spirit  should  they 
attempt  to  kill  him  with  powder  and  ball. 

From  the  repeated  and  desperate  hazards  of  these 
rampaigns,  it  was  hardly  possible  that  a  man  of  Put- 


248  GENERAL    PUTNAM. 

nam's  bold  and  impetuous  temper  could  long  escape. 
In  August,  1758,  he  fell  into  an  ambush  of  French 
and  Indians,  and  was  obliged  to  fight  at  a  great  dis- 
advantage. Having  discharged  his  musket  several 
times,  it  at  length  missed  fire,  while  he  was  aiming 
at  a  brawny  savage  only  a  yard  or  two  distant.  The 
warrior  sprang  forward,  and,  with  his  lifted  tomahawk 
and  a  tremendous  war-whoop,  compelled  him  to  sur- 
render, and  then  bound  him  to  a  tree.  Here  he  con- 
tinued during  the  remainder  of  the  action,  in  the  course 
of  which  the  movements  of  the  hostile  parties  brought 
him  between  their  two  fires,  and,  for  upwards  of  an 
hour,  he  was  exposed  to  the  bullets  of  both  friends 
and  foes,  which  continually  whistled  by  him,  often 
hitting  the  tree  to  which  he  was  bound,  and  sometimes 
passing  through  the  sleeves  and  skirts  of  his  coat. 
At  one  time,  when  the  enemy  had  nearly  obtained  the 
victory,  a  young  savage  began  to  divert  himself  by 
exciting  the  terrors  of  the  captive.  He  threw  his 
tomahawk  a  number  of  times  at  his  head,  taking  care 
that  it  should  not  hit  him,  but  strike  the  tree  a  hair's 
breadth  from  the  mark.  When  he  was  tired  of  this 
savage  amusement,  a  French  officer,  discovering  Put- 
nam in  his  defenceless  state,  levelled  his  musket  at 
his  breast,  within  the  distance  of  a  foot,  and  attempted 
to  shoot  him,  but  the  piece  missed  fire.  Putnam  in 
vain  expostulated  with  him  on  his  cowardly  behavior 
toward  a  prisoner  of  war ;  but  the  Frenchman,  unable 
to  fire  his  gun,  beat  him  cruelly  with  the  butt  end  of 
it,  and  then  left  him. 

The  Americans  finally  obtained  the  advantage,  and 
drove  their  enemies  from  the  field  of  battle ;  but  Put- 


GENERAL   PUTNAM.  249 

nam  was  carried  off  a  prisoner.  He  was  mangled 
with  a  tomahawk  and  otherwise  abused  by  his  captors, 
insomuch  that  he  begged  they  would  put  an  end  to 
his  misery  by  knocking  him  on  the  head.  When 
they  encamped  at  night,  the  savages  made  prepa- 
rations for  burning  him  at  the  stake.  He  was  strip 
ped  naked  and  bound  to  a  tree ;  heaps  of  fagots  and 
other  inflammable  materials  were  piled  round  him; 
dismal  howls  and  screams  were  set  up  as  his  funeral 
dirge,  and  the  piles  were  lighted.  But  at  the  moment 
when  he  had  resigned  himself  to  his  fate,  a  sudden 
shower  arose  and  extinguished  the  flames.  The  sav- 
ages rekindled  the  piles,  and  the  flames  again  threat- 
ened his  destruction,  when  a  French  officer  burst 
through  the  savage  crowd,  scattered  the  burning 
brands,  and  unbound  the  victim.  After  this,  the  pris- 
oner was  strictly  guarded  by  the  French,  to  prevent 
the  Indians  from  glutting  their  diabolical  revenge, 
which  they  still  cherished  in  all  its  virulence  against 
him.  He  was  transported  to  Ticonderoga,  and  from 
thence  to  Montreal,  where  he  was  treated  with  hu- 
manity. After  the  capture  of  Frontenac,  by  General 
Bradstreet,  an  opportunity  was  offered  for  an  exchange 
of  prisoners,  and  Putnam  obtained  his  liberty. 

The  campaign  of  1760  again  brought  him  into  the 
field,  and  we  find  him  in  the  army  of  General  Am- 
herst,  in  the  expedition  which  ascended  the  Mohawk 
to  Lake  Ontario,  and  proceeded  toward  Montreal,  by 
the  route  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  At  Oswegatchie,  two 
armed  vessels  obstructed  the  passage.  Putnam,  with 
a  fleet  of  boats,  undertook  to  board  them :  he  put 
himself  at  the  h'^ad  with  a  chosen  crew  and  a  beetle 


250  GENERAL    PUTNAM. 

and  wedges,  intending  to  fasten  the  rudders  so  as  to 
prevent  the  manoeuvring  of  the  vessels.  The  bold- 
ness of  the  attack  struck  the  enemy  with  a  panic : 
they  ran  one  vessel  ashore,  and  surrendered  the  other, 
although  they  were  well  manned  and  equipped  for 
fighting.  This  advantage  was  followed  up  by  the 
capture  of  the  fort  at  Oswegatchie,  which  was  taken 
by  a  device  of  Putnam,  who  invented  a  new  method 
of  scaling  the  defences.  Montreal  was  taken,  and 
the  conquest  of  Canada  was  effected  without  farther 
loss. 

In  the  war  which  broke  out  between  Great  Britain 
and  Spain,  in  17*62,  Putnam  served  as  lieutenant- 
colonel,  in  a  regiment  raised  in  Connecticut,  which 
joined  the  expedition  of  Lord  Albemarle  against  Ha- 
vana. He  sailed  from  New  York,  in  a  transport  with 
five  hundred  men.  On  the  coast  of  Cuba  they  were 
overtaken  by  a  furious  storm,  and  wrecked  on  a  reef 
not  far  from  the  shore,  but,  by  great  exertions  in  con- 
structing a  raft,  the  whole  crew  were  conveyed  safely 
to  land,  and  received  on  board  the  other  ships.  Ha- 
vana was  taken ;  but  the  provincial  troops  suffered  so 
severely  by  sickness,  that  very  few  of  them  ever  saw 
their  homes  again.  In  the  Indian  war  of  1764,  Put- 
nam was  again  in  command ;  after  which  he  returned 
to  private  life,  till  called  forth  by  public  exigencies 
more  critical  and  momentous  than  any  we  have  yet 
described. 

He  was  ploughing  in  his  field  when  the  news 
reached  him  of  the  battle  of  Lexington :  he  left  his 
plough  in  the  furrow,  unyoked  his  oxen,  and,  without 
changing  his  dress,  set  out  for  Boston.  Finding 


GENERAL    PUTNAM.  251 

the  British  blockaded  in  that  town  by  a  sufficient  force, 
he  returned  to  Connecticut,  raised  a  regiment,  under 
the  authority  of  the  legislature,  and  proceeded  to 
Cambridge.  He  was  now  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
major-general  in  the  provincial  army,  and  his  repu- 
tation stood  so  high  that  secret  proposals  were  made 
to  him  by  the  British  to  abandon  the  American  cause, 
in  which  case  he  might  rely  on  being  rewarded  with 
a  major-general's  commission  in  the  royal  army,  and 
a  liberal  sum  of  money.  It  is  unnecessary  to  say 
that  this  offer  was  spurned  with  contempt  and  indig- 
nation. Shortly  after  this,  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill 
took  place.  The  reader  will  find  a  description  of  this 
engagement  in  another  chapter.  The  accounts  of  the 
movements  of  General  Putnam  on  that  day,  and  the 
share  which  he  had  in  the  battle,  are  so  contradictory, 
that  it  is  impossible  to  reconcile  them,  and  it  is  now 
a  controverted  point  whether  he  was  in  the  action  at 
all.  There  is  no  question  as  to  the  fact  of  his  being 
near  the  battle-ground  at  the  time,  and  as  his  bravery 
is  undoubted,  it  is  not  probable  that  he  was  idle  on 
that  occasion.  After  the  retreat,  he  intrenched  him- 
self on  Prospect  Hill. 

From  this  period  till  the  close  of  the  year  1779,  he 
was  actively  engaged  in  military  operations,  during 
which  he  maintained  his  high  reputation  for  bravery, 
enterprise  and  skill.  But  to  recapitulate  all  the  ac- 
tions in  which  he  fought,  would  be  to  write  the  history 
of  these  campaigns ;  we  can  only  subjoin  a  few  an- 
ecdotes. "While  he  was  stationed  at  Peekskill,  on  the 
Hudson,  a  lieutenant  in  a  newly  levied  company  of 
tories  was  detected  in  his  camp.  '  Preparations  were 


252  GENERAL   PUTNAM. 

instantly  made  to  hang  him  as  a  spy.  Governor 
Tryon,  who  commanded  the  tory  regiments,  claimed 
him  as  a  British  officer,  and  threatened  vengeance 
against  Putnam,  should  he  dare  to  execute  a  man 
bearing  his  Majesty's  commission.  Putnam  imme- 
diately wrote  him  the  following  letter : 

SIR, — Nathan  Palmer,  a  lieutenant  in  your  king's 
service,  was  taken  in  my  camp  as  a  spy ;  he  was  tried 
as  a  spy ;  he  was  condemned  as  a  spy ;  and  you  may 
rest  assured,  sir,  he  shall  be  hanged  as  a  spy. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  &c. 

ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 
His  Excellency  Governor  Tryon. 

P.  S. — Afternoon.     He  is  hanged. 

In  January,  1777,  Putnam  was  directed  to  take  post 
at  Princeton,  where  he  remained  till  spring.  At  this 
place,  a  sick  prisoner,  a  captain,  requested  that  a 
friend  in  the  British  army  at  Brunswick  might  be 
sent  for,  to  assist  him  in  making  his  will.  Putnam 
was  much  embarrassed ;  he  had  but  fifty  men  under 
his  command,  and  to  disclose  his  weakness  would 
infallibly  occasion  the  loss  of  his  post ;  yet  he  was 
unwilling  to  deny  the  last  request  of  a  dying  man. 
At  length,  he  thought  of  a  stratagem.  He  despatched 
a  flag  of  truce,  and  directed  the  visiter  to  be  brought 
in  the  night.  Lights  were  placed  in  all  the  windows 
of  the  college,  and  in  the  apartments  of  the  vacant 
houses  in  the  town.  The  officer,  on  his  return  to  the 
British  camp,  reported  that  Putnam's  force  could  not 
be  less  than  four  or  five  thousand  men. — While  on  a 
risit  to  his  outpost  at  Horse  Neck,  in  Connecticut,  he 


GENERAL   PUTNAM.  253 

found  Tryon  advancing  upon  him  with  a  hody  of 
fifteen  hundred  men.  Putnam  had  only  a  picket 
guard  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  soldiers,  and  two  iron 
field-pieces,  without  horses  or  drag-ropes.  He  planted 
his  cannon  on  an  eminence  near  the  meeting-house, 
and  by  firing  several  shots  kept  the  enemy  at  bay  for 
some  time.  At  length,  perceiving  their  cavalry  about 
to  charge,  he  ordered  his  men  to  retreat  to  a  swamp 
inaccessible  to  cavalry,  and  provided  for  his  own  safety 
by  plunging  headlong  down  a  steep  descent,  consist- 
ing of  nearly  a  hundred  stone  steps.  The  British 
dragoons,  who  were  within  a  sword's  length  of  him,  at 
this  daring  movement  stopped  short ;  not  one  had  the 
courage  to  follow  him.  Putnam  gained  the  bottom  in 
safety,  and  escaped  amid  a  shower  of  bullets,  one  of 
which  passed  through  his  hat.  Before  the  dragoons 
could  ride  round  the  brow  of  the  hill,  he  was  far  out 
of  their  reach. 

The  year  1779  closed  the  military  career  of  Geiv 
eral  Putnam.  A  paralytic  affection  impaired  his 
physical  powers,  and  he  was  compelled  to  retire  from 
the  army.  He  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life  in 
seclusion,  retaining  unabated  his  cheerfulness  of 
temper,  love  of  pleasantry,  strength  of  memory,  and 
all  his  mental  faculties.  His  death  took  place  on  the 
17th  of  May,  1790. 


vii.— 22 


LEXINGTON  AND  BUNKER  HILL, 


General  Warren. 


THE  first  attempt  of  the  British  government  to  tax 
the  American  colonies  without  their  consent,  was 
'resisted  and  foiled  with  a  promptness  and  resolution 
characteristic  of  a  people  jealous  of  their  rights,  and 
sharp-sighted  in  discovering  the  slightest  encroach- 
ment upon  them.  The  stamp  act  of  1765  was  re- 
ceived with  such  an  indignant  show  of  opposition, 
that  the  officers  of  the  crown  found  it  impossible  to 
carry  it  into  effect,  and  the  British  parliament  was 
reduced  to  the  necessity  of  repealing  it  the  following 
year.  A  more  indirect  and  insidious  attempt  was  next 
made  to  establish  the  principle  of  taxation,  by  impos- 
ing a  duty  on  tea ;  but  this  was  met  by  a  combination 


LEXINGTON    AND    EU2MKER.    HILL.  255 

on  the  part  of  the  colonists,  who  determined  neither 
to  import  nor  consume  the  taxed  article.  In  order  to 
circumvent  them  in  this  patriotic  resolution,  the  Brit- 
ish ministry,  by  a  particular  agreement,  bargained 
with  the  East  India  Company  to  send  a  number  of 
ships  laden  with  tea  to  America;  feeling  confident 
that  if  the  cargoes  were  once  landed,  their  purpose 
would  be  accomplished,  and  the  principle  of  taxation 
settled  by  a  precedent.  The  colonists,  however,  were 
on  their  guard  against  these  artful  manoeuvres ;  and 
the  people  of  Boston  were  so  determined  to  resist  the 
landing  of  the  taxed  com.nodity,  that,  on  the  arrival 
of  the  tea-ships  in  their  harbor,  a  party  of  disguised 
individuals  immediate!)  boarded  them  and  threw  the 
tea  overboard. 

Boston  had,  from  the  beginning,  distinguished  itself 
by  the  most  resolute,  bold  and  uncompromising  mea- 
sures against  British  encroachment,  insomuch  that  the 
revolutionary  party,  in  the  early  period  of  the  contest, 
became  known  both  in  America  and  Europe  by  the 
name  of  the  "  Bostonians."  The  wrath  of  the  British 
cabinet  was  raised  to  the  highest  pitch  at  this  last  act 
of  resistance  to  their  arbitrary  measures;  and  they 
resolved  to  inflict  signal  vengeance  on  ;his  devoted 
town,  by  utterly  ruining  its  commerce.  An  act  of 
parliament,  in  March,  1774,  called  the  Boston  Port 
Bill,  shut  up  the  harbor,  removed  the  custom  house, 
and  put  a  complete  stop  to  commerce,  and  every  spe- 
cies of  traffic  and  labor  dependent  upon  it.  A  strong 
army  had  been  quartered  in  the  town,  to  enforce  the 
measures  of  government ;  arid  the  ministry  enjoyed 
in  anticipation  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  Bostonians 


256  LEXINGTON    AND   BUNKER    HILL. 

starved  into  compliance  with  their  mandates.  To  their 
great  astonishment,  the  spirit  of  resistance  to  their 
encroachments  was  rather  strengthened  than  quelled. 
The  citizens  of  the  town  manifested  not  the  slightest 
disposition  to  recede  from  the  ground  they  had  taken 
in  defence  of  their  rights ;  and  their  distresses  were 
alleviated  hy  supplies  of  all  kinds  from  the  neighbor- 
ing towns.  Meantime,  the  petitions  of  the  general 
congress  to  the  king,  for  redress  of  the  grievances  of 
the  colonists,  had  been  received  with  contemptuous 
neglect ;  and  the  measures  of  the  ministry  for  sub- 
jecting America  to  their  arbitrary  authority,  grew 
more  and  more  insulting.  A  reasonable  attempt  at 
conciliation,  on  the  part  of  the  mother  country,  would 
doubtless  have  dispelled  all  animosities,  and  restored 
the  colonies  to  quiet  and  confidence  ;  but  the  British 
ministry  were  urged  on  by  a  blind  infatuation,  and 
took  no  steps  but  such  as  were  calculated  to  exas- 
perate the  irritated  Americans.  It  was  soon  evident 
that  the  colonists  must  resign  their  ancient  political 
rights,  or  prepare  to  maintain  them  by  force  of  arms. 
At  length,  in  the  spring  of  1775,  all  hopes  of  accom- 
modation were  dispelled  by  the  arrival  in  America  of 
the  king's  speech  at  the  opening  of  parliament,  in 
which  the  people  of  Massachusetts  were  declared  to 
be  rebels.  The  indignation  and  resentment  of  the 
colonists  were  wrought  up  to  the  highest  pitch,  and  a 
single  spark  was  only  required  to  set  the  country  in  a 
flame. 

The  rashness  of  General  Gage,  the  British  com- 
mander in  Boston,  precipitated  this  event,  and  plunged 
at  once  the  two  countries  into  a  war  the  most  disas- 


LEXINGTON   AND   BUNKER    HILL.  257 

trous  to  Great  Britain  that  she  ever  experienced. 
That  officer,  having  learned  that  the  provincials  had 
collected  a  quantity  of  provisions  and  military  stores 
at  Concord,  fourteen  miles  from  Boston,  resolved  upon 
sending  a  party  of  troops  to  destroy  them.  He  hoped 
also  to  seize  John  Hancock  and  Samuel  Adams,  two 
persons  of  high  distinction  and  great  influence  in  the 
colony,  who  had  ardently  espoused  the  cause  of  liberty. 
He  made  his  preparations  with  the  utmost  secrecy 
and  caution.  On  the  18th  of  April,  a  number  of 
British  officers  were  sent  to  dine  at  Cambridge  ;  after 
which,  towards  evening,  they  scattered  themselves  on 
the  road  toward  Concord,  and  took  their  stations  so 
as  to  intercept  any  expresses  which  might  be  sent 
from  Boston  to  alarm  the  country.  Gage  hoped  to 
manage  the  affair  so  skilfully,  that  the  Americans 
would  be  completely  taken  by  surprise.  The  grena- 
dier and  light  infantry  companies  were  taken  off  duty 
on  the  pretext  of  learning  a  new  exercise,  and  at 
eleven  o'clock  at  night,  eight  hundred  picked  men 
embarked  from  the  west  side  of  Boston  common, 
landed  near  Lechmere  Point,  and  marched  rapidly 
towards  Concord. 

But  it  was  impossible  to  evade  the  jealous  vigilance 
of  the  Bostonians.  Every  movement  of  the  troops 
had  been  watched,  and  no  sooner  had  they  entered 
the  boats,  than  a  beacon  light  blazed  from  the  tower 
of  the  north  church,  and  spread  the  alarm  into  the 
country.  On  all  the  roads  leading  from  Boston,  the 
inhabitants  were  roused,  took  to  their  arms,  and  col 
lected  at  different  points,  not  knowing  in  what  direc- 
tion the  enemy  were  proceeding.  The  inhabitants  of 
Q  22* 


258  LEXINGTON    AND    BUNKER    HILL. 

Lexington  received  intelligence  from  Dr.  Warren,  a 
little  after  midnight,  that  the  British  were  on  their 
march  to  that  town.  The  militia  immediately  assem- 
bled, and  as  the  day  began  to  dawn,  the  royal  troops, 
on  entering  the  town,  were  met  by  a  body  of  about 
sixty  Americans,  drawn  up  on  the  green.  The  British 
advanced  upon  them  with  loud  shouts,  and  Major  Pit- 
cairn,  their  commander,  cried  out,  "  Disperse,  you 
rebels  ;  throw  down  your  arms,  and  disperse  !  "  He 
then  fired  his  pistol,  and  this  was  followed  by  a  heavy 
volley  from  his  men.  No  resistance  could  be  offered 
by  the  provincials  against  so  superior  a  force,  and  they 
immediately  scattered,  leaving  eight  of  their  number 
dead  on  the  ground,  and  having  ten  wounded. 

Such  is  the  history  of  the  rencounter  in  which 
the  first  blood  was  shed  in  that  memorable  war  which 
put  an  end  to  the  British  empire  within  the  present 
territory  of  the  United  States.  The  royal  troops  gave 
three  cheers,  and  pursued  their  march  to  Concord.  A 
guard  of  about  one  hundred  militia  was  posted  at  the 
outskirts  of  the  town.  Early  in  the  morning,  the 
British  were  discovered  advancing  by  the  Lexington 
road.  The  sun  shone  with  uncommon  splendor,  and 
the  arms  of  eight  hundred  men,  glittering  in  his 
bright  beams,  formed  a  novel,  imposing,  and  alarming 
sight  to  this  small  band  of  undisciplined  rustics.  At 
first,  they  determined  to  face  the  enemy,  and  abide 
the  :onsequences ;  in  this  they  were  encouraged  by 
the  clergyman  of  the  town,  Mr.  Emerson,  who  had 
turned  out  at  the  first  alarm  to  animate  the  people  by 
his  counsel  and  example.  "  Let  us  stand  our  ground  !" 
said  he;  "if  we  die,  let  us  die  here."  "  No,"  said 


LEXINGTON    AND   BUNKER   HILL.  259 

another,  "  it  will  not  do  for  us  to  begin  the  war." 
They  did  not  then  know  what  had  taken  place  at  Lex- 
ington. Finally,  it  was  decided  to  retire  and  wait  for 
reinforcements.  The  British  marched  in,  and  took 
possession  of  the  town.  The  greater  part  of  the  stores 
had  been  secreted,  so  that  the  main  object  of  the 
expedition  was  frustrated.  The  British  staved  about 
sixty  barrels  of  flour,  knocked  off  the  trunnions  of 
three  iron  cannon,  burnt  four  carriage-wheels,  and 
threw  five  hundred  pounds  of  ball  into  the  mill-pond 
and  wells ;  but  before  their  work  of  destruction  was 
completed,  the  sounds  of  the  alarm  bell  and  the  sight 
of  numbers  of  people  gathering  on  the  surrounding 
hills,  warned  the  British  commander  that  he  was  in 
danger  of  having  his  retreat  cut  off,  and  he  hastily 
took  up  his  march  for  Boston. 

But  it  was  now  broad  day,  and  the  alarm  had 
spread  throughout  the  neighborhood.  From  every 
village,  hamlet  and  solitary  farm-house,  the  people 
came  thronging  to  the  scene  of  action ;  and  three 
hundred  armed  men  had  collected  at  Concord  as  the 
British  marched  out  of  town.  Near  the  bridge,  sev- 
eral shots  were  fired  from  the  British  ranks,  by  which 
two  of  the  Americans  were  killed,  and  two  more 
wounded.  The  Americans  immediately  poured  in  a 
volley,  by  which  three  were  killed  and  eight  wounded 
on  the  side  of  the  royal  troops.  Scattering  shots  con- 
tinued to  fall  upon  the  British  from  flank  and  rear, 
and  as  they  retreated,  the  fire  of  the  Americans  in- 
creased. From  behind  fences,  stone-walls,  trees,  and 
houses,  flashes  of  musketry  apprized  them  that  a  dar- 
ing and  indefatigable  enemy  had  determined  to  avenge 


260  LEXINGTON    AND    BUNKER    HILL. 

the  blood  spilt  at  Lexington.  Every  step  increased 
the  number  of  the  provincials,  and  the  alarm  of  the 
British  ;  these,  exposed  to  the  incessant  fire  of  a  cloud 
of  expert  marksmen,  whom  they  could  neither  escape 
nor  repel,  saw  their  ranks  thinned  by  invisible  ene- 
mies, and  were  compelled  to  hasten  their  retreat,  leav- 
ing the  road  behind  them  strewed  with  their  dead 
and  wounded  companions.  General  Gage,  in  the 
mean  time,  had  received  at  an  early  hour  the  news  of 
the  affair  at  Lexington,  and  was  informed  that  the 
country  was  rising.  Feeling  alarmed  for  the  safety 
of  the  detachment,  he  sent  out  another  body  of  nine 
hundred  men,  with  two  pieces  of  cannon,  for  their 
relief.  To  show  their  contempt  for  their  enemies, 
these  troops  marched  out  with  their  band  playing  a 
tune  which  had  lately  been  composed  in  derision  of 
the  Americans,  but  which  subsequent  events  have 
raised  to  uncommon  fame  and  honor.  As  they  filed 
through  the  streets  of  Roxbury,  a  smart  boy  cried 
out  in  the  hearing  of  Lord  Percy,  who  commanded 
the  detachment,  "You  march  out  with  Yankee  Doo- 
dle, lid  you  loill  dance  home  with  Chevy  Chase."  It  is 
added,  that  this  sally  was  not  out  of  his  lordship's 
head  for  the  whole  day. 

The  arrival  of  this  timely  reinforcement  saved 
Pitcairn's  troops  from  being  completely  overwhelmed. 
They  made  a  short  halt  at  Lexington,  to  take  breath ; 
but  the  number  of  the  Americans  continually  increas- 
ing, they  were  still  in  danger  of  having  their  retreat 
cutoff.  Constant  skirmishes  took  place ;  the  militia 
hung  upon  their  flanks  and  rear,  and  their  numbers 
being  now  formidable,  the  annoyance  which  they  gave 


LEXINGTON    AND    BUNKER    HILL.  261 

the  retreating  troops  was  excessive.  To  add  to  their 
embarrassments,  the  wind,  which  blew  strong  from  the 
south,  was  uncommonly  warm,  and  the  road  being 
dry,  they  were  blinded  by  clouds  of  dust,  and  ex- 
hausted with  their  rapid  march  under  a  hot  sun. 
Major  Pitcairn  was  obliged  to  abandon  his  horse,  which 
was  taken  with  the  pistols  in  the  holsters.  Such  was 
the  confusion  and  panic  among  the  ranks  of  the 
British,  that  the  soldiers  pointed  their  guns  over  the 
stone  walls  and  fired  when  there  was  no  enemy  in 
sight.  In  this  manner,  they  continued  their  retreat 
with  an  accelerated  pace,  and  had  the  good  fortune  to 
reach  Charlestown  just  as  the  shades  of  night  were 
gathering  around  them.  A  delay  of  an  another  hour 
would  have  caused  the  capture  or  dispersion  of  their 
whole  body.  They  were  completely  exhausted  by  the 
excessive  fatigue  of  this  march,  and  had  suffered  a  loss 
of  t\vo  hundred  and  seventy-three  in  killed,  wounded 
and  prisoners.  The  loss  of  the  provincials  in  killed, 
wounded  and  missing,  was  eighty-eight.  Several 
houses,  also,  were  set  on  fire  by  the  British  in  their 
retreat. 

Such  was  the  memorable  affair  of  Concord,  which 
is  known  in  American  history  by  the  less  appropriate 
name  of  the  Battle  of  Lexington.  Seldom  has  a 
military  action  produced  so  instantaneous  and  momen- 
tous an  effect.  The  news  of  it  ran  through  the  coun- 
try like  an  electric  shock,  and  in  all  quarters  the 
inhabitants  rushed  from  their  houses  as  the  messenger 
of  war  swept  by  them :  the  husbandman  abandoned 
his  plough ;  the  mechanic  threw  down  his  tools ;  the 
tradesman  quitted  his  shop  ;  the  churches  poured  forth 


LEXINGTON    AND    BUNKER    HILL. 

their  congregations  at  the  tidings  that  blood  had  been 
shed ;  and  the  spirit  of  war  was  now  sweeping  over 
the  country.  The  first  moments  of  panic  and  ama/e- 
ment  were  succeeded  by  courage,  resolution  and  deci- 
sive action.  One  single  determination  now  seemed  to 
inspire  all  New  England,  to  avenge  the  blood  of  Con- 
cord and  Lexington.  Unsummoned  and  self-impelled, 
old  and  young  rushed  to  arms ;.  in  three  days  the  roads 
were  covered  with  files  and  companies  of  men,  march- 
ing upon  Boston,  and  within  a  week  the  town  was 
invested  by  an  army  of  twenty  thousand  men.  From 
the  heights  of  that  capital,  the  British  commander 
espied  with  astonishment  the  watch-fires  of  his  ene- 
mies, which  studded  the  horizon  for  miles  in  a  long 
sweep  around  his  encampment,  and  completely  en- 
closed him  in  a  narrow  space.  It  was  then  that  he 
became  sensible  of  the  momentous  character  of  the 
deed  he  had  done,  and  perhaps  repented  of  his  rash- 
ness. But  it  was  too  late;  the  decisive  blow  had  been 
struck,  and  the  flame  was  kindled  which  was  destined 
to  sweep  over  the  land,  and  blaze,  till  the  British 
empire  in  these  states  was  no  more. 

The  provincial  army,  which,  like  the  progeny  of  the 
dragon's  teeth,  seemed  to  have  sprung  at  once  out  of 
the  earth,  immediately  intrenched  themselves  on  the 
heights  of  Roxbury,  Brookline,  Cambridge  and  Charles- 
town.  Seldom  have  troops  been  apparently  more 
poorly  qualified  for  the  business  of  war.  Few  among 
them  had  ever  seen  the  face  of  an  enemy ;  fewer  still 
knew  anything  of  discipline ;  and  fewer  yet,  of  military 
science  as  it  had  been  taught  in  the  armies  of  Europe. 
Their  equipments  were  of  the  most  heterogeneous 


LEXINGTON    AND   BUNKER    HILL.  263 

character :  rusty  muskets  and  fowling-pieces  were  the 
weapons  of  such  of  the  infantry  as  possessed  fire-arms; 
they  had  no  cavalry ;  bayonets  were  hardly  known 
among  them  ;  and  their  artillery  consisted  of  four  can- 
non of  the  smallest  size.  Such  command  over  them 
as  existed,  was  exercised  by  a  deacon  of  the  church — 
General  Ward.  From  what  quarter  they  were  to 
obtain  ammunition,  nobody  knew;  but  these  men. 
inspired  by  an  ardent  resolution  to  avenge  the  blood  of 
their  countrymen,  and  face  their  insolent  enemy  in  his 
strong-hold,  undertook  to  besiege  a  powerful  and  well- 
equipped  British  army,  commanded  by  the  most  skil- 
ful and  experienced  officers,  and  assisted  by  a  strong 
fleet  of  ships  of  war,  lying  in  the  harbor.  If  General 
Gage's  first  sensation  was  that  of  astonishment,  it  soon 
subsided  into  contempt  for  his  enemy,  in  whom  he  saw 
nothing  but  a  disorderly  rabble,  whom  he  imagined  he 
could  disperse  by  the  first  movement  of  his  veteran 
columns.  As  soldiers,  the  Americans  were  despised 
by  the  British,  whose  obstinate  self-conceit  had  not 
yet  been  subdued.  In  the  campaign  against  Louis- 
burg,  thirty  years  before,  the  awkward  discipline  and 
uncouth  engineering  of  the  New  England  troops, 
excited  the  hearty  merriment  of  the  officers  of  the 
royal  navy,  who  pronounced  such  an  army  unable  to 
capture  a  cow-yard.  The  Yankees  made  no  answer, 
but  they  took  the  town. 

General  Gage  continued  inactive  for  some  weeks, 
expecting  every  day  that  the  provincials  would  dis- 
perse of  their  own  accord,  and  leave  him  at  liberty  to 
range  the  country  at  his  pleasure.  But,  to  his  sur- 
prise, no  indication  of  such  a  design  was  perceptible. 


264  LEXINGTON    AND   BUNKER   HILL. 

His  surprise  was  redoubled  by  discovering,  on  the 
morning  of  the  17th  of  June,  an  intrenchment,  which 
had  risen  during  the  preceding  night,  on  the  summit 
of  Breed's  Hill,  the  most  advanced  of  the  heights  on 
the  peninsula  of  Charlestown.  No  part  of  this  penin- 
sula had  before  been  occupied  by  the  American  forces ; 
but  on  the  16th  of  June,  a  detachment  of  a  thousand 
men,  under  Colonel  Prescott,  was  ordered  to  take  post 
and  throw  up  works  on  Bunker  Hill,  a  loftier  and 
steeper  eminence,  farther  from  Boston.  Either  mis- 
taking the  locality,  or  stimulated  by  a  desire  to  ap- 
proach as  near  to  the  enemy  as  possible,  the  Americans 
advanced  to  the  heights  nearest  to  Boston,  and,  during 
the  shortest  night  of  the  year,  labored  with  such  indus- 
try that  by  the  dawn  of  day  they  had  thrown  up  a 
redoubt  of  earth  eight  rods  square.  Several  ships  of 
war  lay  in  the  river,  close  to  the  hill ;  yet  such  was  the 
extraordinary  silence  with  which  the  work  was  prose- 
cuted, that  the  British  heard  nothing  of  the  noise  and 
bustle  of  a  thousand  men  at  labor  with  their  intrench- 
ing tools.  As  soon  as  dawn  revealed  what  had  been 
done,  a  brisk  fire  was  opened  upon  the  redoubt  from 
one  of  the  ships ;  but  the  Americans  took  no  notice  of 
it,  and  continued  their  labor  with  the  coolness  of 
veteran  soldiers.  The  cannonade  upon  them  soon  in- 
creased ;  the  other  ships  and  floating  batteries  added 
their  fire,  and  the  British  works  on  Copp's  Hill,  in 
Boston,  which  directly  faced  the  Americans,  poured 
upon  them  an  incessant  shower  of  shot  and  shells. 
Only  one  man  was  killed  by  all  this  cannonading  and 
bombardment ;  and  the  works  on  the  hill  were  pursued 
till  a  breastwork  had  been  carried  down  from  the  east 


LEXINGTON    AND   BUNKER    HILL.  265 

side  of  the  redoubt  nearly  to  the  foot  of  the  eminence. 
But  the  Americans  had  no  time  to  complete  their  lines 
of  de-fence ;  they  were  stopped  in  their  work  by  the 
approach  of  the  enemy's  troops. 

In  the  affair  of  Bunker  Hill,  neither  the  Americans 
nor  the  British  were  guided  by  the  rules  of  sound 
military  tactics.  The  possession  of  the  post  which  they 
occupied  was  of  no  value  to  the  Americans,  as,  from 
their  want  of  heavy  artillery,  it  gave  them  no  additional 
means  of  annoying  their  enemy.  The  British  general, 
on  the  other  hand,  had  no  adequate  object  in  driving 
them  from  this  post,  for  the  same  reason ;  and,  in 
addition  to  this,  he  had  it  in  his  power,  by  taking 
possession  of  Charlestown  Neck,  to  cut  off  their  re- 
treat and  starve  them  into  a  surrender.  The  true 
cause  of  the  battle  was,  that  both  sides  were  eager  to 
come  to  blows.  In  spite  of  the  lesson  which  they 
had  received  at  Concord,  the  British  still  remained 
under  the  impression  that  the  American  militia  were 
cowards,  who  would  not  stand  the  fire  of  regular 
troops,  and  they  wished,  as  a  pastime,  to  meet  and 
scatter  an  army  of  them,  in  revenge  for  the  inglorious 
nineteenth  of  April.  The  Americans,  in  their  turn, 
were  resolved  to  improve  the  first  opportunity  of  trying 
their  strength.  In  this  situation  of  things,  a  speedy 
conflict  was  unavoidable.  Gage  issued  immediate 
orders  to  drive  the  provincials  from  the  hill.  Between 
four  and  five  thousand  men,  the  choicest  troops  in  the 
army,  were  detached  upon  this  service,  and  a  little 
before  one  o'clock,  the  greater  part  of  them  landed  in 
Charlestown,  and  formed  for  the  attack.  Generals 
Howe  and  Pigot  had  the  command ;  they  were  well 
vii.— 23 


266  LEXINGTON  AND    BUNKER    HILL. 

supplied  with  field  artillery,  and  all  sorts  of  ammu- 
nition. The  Americans  amounted,  in  all,  to  fifteen 
hundred  rnen,  a  third  _part  of  whom  arrived  during 
the  engagement.  Prescott  seems  to  have  exercised 
the  command.  Dr.  Warren,  president  of  the  provin- 
cial congress,  had  just  received  a  commission  as  gen- 
eral ;  but  he  refused  the  command  at  Bunker  Hill, 
and  served  as  a  volunteer.  General  Putnam,  accord- 
ing to  the  testimony  of  many,  good  witnesses,  was  also 
in  the  battle.  Yet  this  point  of  history  is  involved  in 
strange  contradictions.  As  new  companies  dropped 
in  from  time  to  time,  they  took  their  stations  and  acted 
probably  without  much  regard  to  the  orders  of  any 
commander.  Two  light  pieces  of  cannon  were 
mounted  in  the  redoubt,  but  that  work  had  no  embra- 
sures, and  the  artillery-men  were  without  skill  in 
gunnery.  There  was  but  a  small  quantity  of  powder 
among  the  Americans,  and  that  chiefly  in  powder- 
horns;  no  measures  had  been  taken  for  a  supply, 
rind  very  few  of  the  guns  had  bayonets.  Such  was 
the  relative  condition  of  the  two  armies,  which  ex- 
hibited a  disparity  of  force  that  must  astonish  every 
one  who  contemplates  the  result  of  the  battle. 

At  the  first  movement  of  the  British  troops  in  Bos- 
ton, their  batteries  on  the  Neck  opened  a  heavy  fire 
upon  the  American  works  in  Roxbury,  in  order  to 
direct  the  attention  of  the  provincials  from  the  main 
point  of  attack,  and  prevent  them  from  sending  re- 
inforcements to  Charlestown.  The  Copp's  Hill  bat- 
teries and  the  shipping  increased  their  fire  as  the 
troops  formed  and  advanced  against  the  American 
lines  on  Breed's  Hill.  The  tremendous  roar  of  can- 


LEXINGTON   AND  BUNKER    HILL.  267 

non  and  the  preparations  for  the  approaching  battle 
wrought  up  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  and  neigh- 
borhood to  the  highest  pitch  of  excitement.  It  was, 
indeed,  a  moment  full  of  awful  suspense  and  anxiety. 
The  hills  of  Boston,  the  housetops  and  steeples,  the 
heights  which  surround  the  town,  were  covered  with 
people,  breathless  with  expectation,  and  every  stirring 
emotion.  The  British  troops  advanced  slowly  up  the 
hill,  facing  the  American  breastworks,  in  excellent 
order,  and  halting  occasionally,  to  give  time  for  the 
artillery  to  fire.  The  scene  now  became  grand  and 
awful  in  the  highest  degree.  Charlestown,  a  cluster 
of  five  hundred  wooden  houses,  was  set  on  fire  by  the 
British,  and  rose  in  a  huge  pyramid  of  flame  to  the 
sky.  The  roar  of  the  conflagration,  the  thunder  of  the 
British  artillery,  and  the  shower  of  bombs  and  shot 
which  rained  upon  the  Americans,  might  have  appalled 
the  most  hardened  veterans  ;  but,  with  the  utmost 
courage  and  coolness,  they  maintained  their  post,  re- 
serving their  fire  till  the  British  had  arrived  within 
point  blank  shot,  when  they  took  deliberate  aim,  and 
poured  upon  their  advancing  lines  so  destructive  a 
volley,  that  in  an  instant  they  were  brought  to  a 
stand;  unable  to  support  it  beyond  a  few  minutes, 
they  gave  way,  and  retreated  down  the  hill.  At  full 
speed,  and  in  great  disorder,  they  gained  the  land- 
ing-place, and  some  of  them  took  refuge  in  their  boats. 
The  officers  were  seen  running  after  them,  attempting 
to  rally  and  encourage  them,  and  even  goading  them 
backwards  towards  the  enemy  with  their  swords. 

By  great  efforts,  the  royal  troops  were  rallied,  and 
led  a  second  time  against  the  lines.     Again  the  provin- 


263  LEXINGTON  AND    BUNKER    HILL. 

cials  waited  their  approach  with  the  most  determined 
coolness,  and  again  did  a  vigorous  and  Avell-directed 
fire  mow  down  the  British  ranks,  and  put  them  to 
flight.  Such  was  the  carnage,  that  General  Howe 
was  left  standing  almost  alone  arnid  heaps  of  the  dead; 
and  such  was  the  dismay  caused  by  this  terrible 
slaughter,  that  the  officers  exclaimed  against  the  or- 
ders to  renew  the  attack,  and  pronounced  it  a  "  down- 
right butchery."  But  in  the  mean  time,  Gage,  from 
the  opposite  shore,  had  witnessed  the  unexpected  dis- 
comfiture of  his  troops,  and  hastened  to  strengthen 
them  by  a  reinforcement.  With  this  help,  a  new 
effort  was  made  to  face  the  Americans,  though  ihe 
soldiers  evinced  the  utmost  repugnance  to  be  led  again 
to  battle.  The  united  and  strenuous  efforts  of  their 
officers  succeeded  in  once  more  animating  them  to 
the  conflict.  At  the  third  attack,  the  powder  of  the 
Americans  began  to  fail,  and  their  fire  was  not  kept 
up  with  the  usual  spirit.  This  revived  the  coinage  of 
the  assailants  ;  the  cannonade  from  the  ships,  batteries 
and  field-pieces  was  redoubled,  and  the  imperfect 
nature  of  the  breastwork  enabled  the  British  to  get 
in  the  rear  of  it  on  the  left  wing,  and  bring  several 
pieces  of  cannon  to  bear,  so  as  to  rake  it  on  the  inside 
from  end  to  end.  No  position  is  tenable  when  it  be- 
comes thus  exposed  :  the  breastwork  was  abandoned, 
but  those  in  the  redoubt  held  out.  The  British  fol- 
lowed up  their  success,  and  encouraged  their  soldiers 
to  attack  the  redoubt.  Three  sides  were  assailed  at 
once  by  a  furious  charge  with  the  bayonet.  The 
Americans,  overpowered  by  numbers,  with  neither 
powder  nor  bayonets,  nevertheless  made  an  obstinate 


LEXINGTON   AND    BUNKER   HILL.  269 

resistance  with  the  butt  ends  of  their  muskets,  till  the 
redoubt  being  half  filled  with  the  enemy,  and  all  fur- 
ther opposition  a  useless  waste  of  life,  they  gave 
up  the  contest  and  retreated.  General  Warren  was 
just  at  this  moment  struck  with  a  bullet  in  the  head, 
and  killed  within  the  redoubt. 

The  possession  of  the  battle-field  rested  with  the 
British ;  but  the  enormous  loss  which  they  sustained, 
and  the  unexpected  courage  and  obstinacy  with  which 
the  Americans  had  fought,  took  away  all  reason  for 
exultation  on  the  part  of  the  victors.  One  thousand 
and  fifty-four  of  their  number  were  killed  or  wounded, 
and  the  officers  killed  amounted  to  eighty-nine.  The 
American  killed  and  wounded  did  not  exceed  four 
hundred  and  twenty.  On  the  other  hand,  the  firm- 
ness with  which  the  provincials  had  resisted  the 
attack,  and  the  execution  which  they  had  made  among 
the  ranks  of  their  enemies,  were  accounted  by  them 
as  equivalent  to  a  victory.  The  result  of  that  day  gave 
them  high  confidence,  dismayed  their  antagonists,  and 
proved  an  effectual  stop  to  the  advance  of  the  British 
into  Massachusetts.  The  consequences,  moreover, 
were  felt  in  more  distant  quarters.  Washington,  who 
had  just  been  appointed  commander-in-chief,  was  duly 
sensible  of  the  hazardous  nature  of  the  contest  between 
the  raw  militia  of  the  colonies,  and  the  well-disciplined 
veterans  of  Britain.  When  he  was  informed  that  a 
battle  had  been  fought  between  the  British  troops  and 
the  New  England  militia,  he  eagerly  asked  whether 
the  latter  had  stood  the  fire  of  the  regulars ;  on  hear- 
ing the  battle  described,  he  clasped  his  hands  together, 
and  exclaimed  with  energy,  "  The  liberties  of  America 
are  safe!"  23* 


ARNOLD'S  MARCH  TO  QUEBEC. 

WHILE  the  American  army  were  blockading  Bos- 
ton, in  the  autumn  of  1775,  a  scheme  was  projected 
by  congress  for  the  invasion  of  Canada.  Favorable 
accounts  had  been  received  from  that  country,  and  it 
was  believed  that  neither  the  Canadians  nor  the  In- 
dians would  take  up  arms  against  the  Americans. 
The  scheme  was  approved  by  Washington,  and  it  was 
decided  that  a  strong  force  should  advance  upon  Que- 
bec by  the  way  of  Lake  Champlain,  while  another 
body  should  be  detached  from  the  army  at  Cambridge, 
and  march  upon  the  same  point  through  the  wilder- 
ness of  Maine,  by  the  way  of  the  river  Kennebec. 
Generals  Montgomery  and  Schuyler  were  entrusted 
with  the  command  of  the  former,  and  Colonel  Arnold 
with  that  of  the  latter  division  of  the  invading  army. 

Arnold's  undertaking  was  deemed  hazardous,  but  it 
was  beset  with  far  greater  perils  than  any  one  imag- 
ined. There  were  few  settlements  in  Maine  at  any 
great  distance  from  the  seacoast,  and  the  district  to  be 
traversed  was  a  desolate  wilderness,  of  which  hardly 
anything  was  known ;  but  Arnold,  who  was  cour- 
ageous, of  a  sanguine  temper,  and  little  accustomed 
to  prudential  calculations  when  a  new  and  attractive 
enterprise  presented  itself  to  his  ambition,  readily  ac- 
cepted the  command  of  the  expedition.  His  force 
consisted  of  ten  companies  of  New  England  infantry, 


ARNOLD'S  MARCH  TO  QUEBEC.  271 

and  three  companies  of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania 
riflemen.  They  amounted  in  all  to  eleven  hundred 
men.  The  field  officers,  in  addition  to  the  commander^ 
were  Colonels  Greene  and  Enos,  and  Majors  Bigelow 
and  Meigs.  The  riflemen  were  commanded  by  Cap- 
tain Daniel  Morgan,  afterwards  so  celebrated  as  a 
partisan  officer.  The  famous  Aaron  Burr  served  in 
this  expedition  as  a  lieutenant. 

On  the  13th  of  September,  1775,  the  detachment 
marched  from  Cambridge  for  Newburyport,  where,  six 
days  after,  they  embarked  in  ten  transports  for  the 
Kennebec.  Two  days'  voyage  brought  them  to  the 
mouth  of  this  river,  and  they  ascended  it  as  far  as 
Gardiner.  A  company  of  boat-builders  had  previously 
been  despatched  to  that  place  from  Cambridge,  to  con- 
struct batteaux ;  and  they  labored  with  such  industry, 
that  in  fourteen  days  from  the  time  the  first  orders 
for  the  drafting  of  the  troops  were  issued  at  Cam- 
bridge, the  whole  body  were  embarked  on  the  Kenne- 
bec in  two  hundred  boats,  completely  equipped  and 
provisioned.  They  sailed  up  the  river  and  rendez- 
voused at  Fort  Western,  opposite  the  site  of  the  present 
town  of  Augusta. 

Hitherto  they  had  proceeded  without  any  adequate 
conception  of  the  difficulties  that  lay  before  them: 
but  the  perils  of  the  undertaking  soon  began  to  appear. 
The  cold  season  was  approaching,  and  the  winters  of 
Maine  are  uncommonly  severe.  Eleven  hundred 
men,  with  their  arms,  ammunition  and  provisions, 
were  to  find  their  way  through  an  unknown  region, 
wild,  rugged,  and  without  inhabitants.  There  were 
craggy  mountains  to  traverse,  how  lofty  and  steep  no 


272  ARNOLD'S  MARCH  TO  QUEBEC. 

one  knew.  Nothing  like  a  road  existed  in  the  wil- 
derness. Rapids  and  cataracts  obstructed  the  navi- 
gation of  the  rivers,  and  they  were  not  only  com- 
pelled to  force  their  batteaux  against  swift  currents, 
but  were  exposed  to  the  labor  of  constantly  unlading 
them,  and  transporting  them  and  their  cargoes  round 
the  waterfalls.  More  than  two  hundred  miles  were 
to  be  travelled  through  all  these  difficulties,  before 
they  reach  the  French  settlements  on  the  frontiers  of 
Canada.  Arnold  had  but  slight  knowledge  of  the 
country  to  direct  his  movements.  Colonel  Montresor, 
a  British  officer,  had  passed  over  this  route  fifteen 
years  before,  and  an  imperfect  copy  of  his  journal  had 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  American  leader,  who 
relied  chiefly  upon  it  for  his  guidance.  Some  Indi- 
ans had  furnished  additional  information  ;  and  Arnold 
secretly  despatched  two  persons  forward  as  an  explor- 
ing party.  These  men,  on  reaching  the  head  waters 
of  Dead  River,  met  an  old  Norridgewock  Indian,  the 
last  of  his  tribe,  who  had  his  wigwam  in  that  neigh- 
borhood. The  crafty  savage,  being  probably  in  the 
interest  of  the  British,  contrived  to  terrify  them  with 
bugbear  stories,  and  they  dared  not  advance  any  fur- 
ther, but  wrote  back  to  Arnold,  who  received  their 
communication  at  Fort  Western. 

From  this  post,  the  army  proceeded  up  the  river  in 
four  divisions,  keeping  a  day's  march  between  them, 
that  they  might  not  interfere  with  each  other  in  pass- 
ing rapids  and  cataracts.  Morgan,  with  his  riflemen, 
led  the  van,  and  Enos  brought  up  the  rear.  As  they 
advanced,  the  rapidity  of  the  stream  increased,  and 
the  bed  and  shores  grew  still  more  rocky.  On  the 


ARNOLD  S  MARCH  TO  QUEBEC.         273 

first  of  October,  the  forward  party  reached  Norridge- 
wock.  Here,  a  little  below  the  falls  of  the  river,  for- 
merly stood  the  Indian  village  where  the  celebrated 
missionary  Rasle  lived  twenty-six  years,  and  built  a 
chapel.  The  ruins  of  the  latter  were  still  visible,  as 
Arnold's  troops  passed  the  spot.  Their  curiosity  was 
also  interested  by  another  object ;  this  was  a  child 
fourteen  months  old,  the  first  white  person  ever  born 
in  that  place.  At  the  Norridgewock  falls,  it  was 
necessary  to  unlade  the  batteaux,  and  transport  them, 
with  all  their  effects,  a  mile  and  a  quarter  by  land, 
,  over  a  rough  and  rocky  country.  On  examining  their 
provisions,  they  were  now  found  to  be  much  damaged, 
particularly  the  bread.  The  boats,  from  the  hurry  in 
which  they  had  been  constructed,  proved  leaky,  and 
had  constantly  suffered  from  accidents  in  ascending 
the  rapids.  It  cost  the  little  army  seven  days'  labor  to 
repair  their  injured  craft,  and  get  them  round  the  falls. 
Passing  more  of  these  obstructions,  they  reached  the 
Great  Carrying  Place  at  the  head  of  the  Kennebec. 
The  fatigues  which  they  had  encountered  were 
extreme,  having  been  obliged  to  wade  in  the  river  for 
half  the  distance,  dragging  the  boats  against  the  swift 
current.  Much  sickness  prevailed  among  them,  re- 
ducing their  effective  force  to  nine  hundred  and  fifty 
men. 

The  expedition  had  now  reached  the  extreme  point 
of  navigation  on  the  main  stream  of  the  Kennebec. 
From  this  spot,  the  Great  Carrying  Place  extended 
fifteen  miles  to  Dead  River,  one  of  the  head  breams 
of  the  Kennebec.  They  had  yet  fifteen  days'  provi- 
sion remaining,  and  Arnold  was  confident  of  reaching 
R 


274        ARNOLD  S  MARCH  TO  QUEBEC. 

the  Chaudiere,  which  falls  into  the  St.  Lawrence,  in 
eight  or  ten  days.  It  was  necessary  to  transport  the 
boats,  provisions  and  baggage,  on  men's  shoulders,  the 
greater  part  of  the  distance,  as  the  Carrying  Place  had 
only  three  small  ponds  to  relieve  them  of  the  iabor 
through  its  whole  extent.  A  steep  and  rugged  ascent 
of  three  miles  caused  them  a  march  of  painful  iou  to 
the  first  pond,  where  they  again  embarked.  Beyond 
this,  their  course  was  impeded  by  craggy  ravines  ana 
morasses ;  but  by  unwearied  efforts  they  maJe  tneir 
way  through  every  impediment,  and,  aftef  six  days' 
incessant  labor,  they  reached  Dead  River  on  the  16th 
of  October.  The  ponds  were  stocked  with  abundance 
of  fine  salmon  trout,  which  afforded  a  most  welcome 
supply  of  food  after  this  laborious  march.  Two 
blockhouses  were  built  at  different  points  on  this 
route,  as  depositories  for  the  sick,  and  for  a  stock  of 
provisions  which  had  been  ordered  from  Norridge- 
wock. 

Before  they  reached  Dead  River,  Arnold  sent  for- 
ward one  of  his  men  with  two  Indians.  The  latter 
carried  letters  to  General  Schuyler,  and  some  persons 
in  Quebec,  who  were  supposed  to  be  well  affected 
toward  the  American's.  The  other  individual  was 
directed  to  explore  the  French  settlements  on  the 
Chaudiere,  ascertain  the  feeling  of  the  inhabitants, 
and  return  with  such  intelligence  as  he  could  obtain. 
It  appears  that  Arnold  had  not  sufficient  proof  of  the 
fidelity  of  the  Indians  to  warrant  his  entrusting  them 
with  so  important  a  mission,  for  they  betrayed  their 
trust,  and  carried  the  letters  to  the  lieutenant  gov- 
ernor of  Canada.  The  expedition  now  advanced  up 


ARNOLD'S  MARCH  TO  QUEBEC.  276 

the  gentle  stream  of  the  Dead  River,  which,  however, 
was  interrupted  in  several  places  by  falls  of  short 
descent.  The  meandering  course  of  the  river  made 
their  progress  a  very  slow  one.  Near  a  bold  and  lofty 
mountain,  capped  with  snow,  the  army  halted  for  rest, 
two  or  three  days.  A  tradition  has  prevailed  that 
Major  Bigelow  ascended  to  the  top  of  this  mountain, 
in  the  hope  of  discovering  the  hills  of  Canada  and  the 
spires  of  Quebec ;  and  from  this  circumstance  it  has 
obtained  the  name  of  Mount  Bigelow. 

The  provisions  now  began  to  fall  short,  and  a 
detachment  of  ninety  men  were  sent  back  to  hasten 
the  march  of  the  rear  division,  which  was  better  sup- 
plied than  the  rest.  Arnold  and  Morgan  pushed  for- 
ward with  the  first  and  second.  Heavy  rains  fell,  and 
for  three  days  every  man  and  all  the  baggage  were 
drenched  with  water.  Violent  floods  pouring  down 
the  ravines  of  this  mountainous  region,  exposed  them 
to  constant  danger.  One  night,  having  encamped  on 
shore  at  a  late  hour,  they  were  suddenly  roused  by  a 
mountain  torrent,  which  burst  upon  them  with  such 
fury  that  they  had  barely  time  to  escape,  before  the 
spot  on  which  they  had  lain  was  completely  over- 
flowed. These  incessant  rains  caused  the  river  to 
swell,  and  in  nine  hours  the  water  rose  eight  feet. 
The  rapidity  of  the  current  was  increased,  and  the 
stream,  expanding,  flooded  the  low  grounds  along  the 
banks  of  the  river,  and  entangled  the  batteaux  among 
the  driftwood,  bushes,  and  other  obstructions.  Seven 
of  them  were  overset,  and  all  their  cargoes  lost.  By 
this  disaster  their  slender  stock  of  provisions  became 
further  reduced,  and  a  council  of  war  being  called,  it 


276  ARNOLD'S  MARCH  TO  QUEBEC. 

was  decided  to  send  back  all  the  sick  and  debilitated. 
Orders  were  therefore  despatched  to  Greene  and 
Enos,  who  were  yet  in  the  rear,  to  push  forward  with 
as  many  of  their  men  as  they  could  supply  with 
fifteen  days'  provision,  and  send  the  remainder  back  to 
Norridgewock.  Enos  disobeyed  this  order,  and,  in- 
stead of  continuing  his  march,  abandoned  the  enter- 
prise, and  retreated  with  his  whole  division  of  three 
companies  to  the  seacoast,  from  whence  he  returned 
to  the  army  at  Cambridge. 

The  other  divisions  continued  their  toilsome  course 
up  Dead  River,  ignorant  that  they  were  abandoned  by 
their  comrades.  So  many  difficulties  were  encoun- 
tered, that  they  made  but  twenty-one  miles'  progress 
in  three  days.  Arnold  led  the  van  with  sixty  men, 
designing  to  make  a  forced  march  to  the  Chaudiere, 
and  send  back  provisions  to  the  main  body.  The 
fatigues  and  sufferings  of  the  soldiers  augmented 
daily  ;  the  cold  increased  ;  the  rain  changed  to  snow ; 
the  rivers  and  ponds  froze,  and  they  were  obliged  to 
drag  the  batteaux  through  the  ice.  At  length,  on  the 
27th  of  October,  the  advanced  party  reached  the  high- 
lands, which  separate  the  head  streams  of  Maine  from 
those  of  Canada,  having  passed  seventeen  falls  on 
Dead  River,  and  made  their  way  through  an  immense 
number  of  ponds  and  morasses,  choked  with  logs  and 
other  obstructions.  They  were  now  near  Lake  Me- 
gantic,  the  source  of  the  Chaudiere  ;  a  sheet  of  water 
thirteen  miles  long,  and  three  or  four  broad,  and  sur- 
rounded by  lofty  mountains.  They  encamped  on  its 
eastern  shore,  where  they  fortunately  discovered  a 


ARNOLD'S  MARCH  TO  QUEBEC.  277 

large  Indian  wigwam,  which  afforded  them  comfortable 
quarters. 

At  this  spot,  they  found  Lieutenants  Steel  and 
Church,  who  had  been  forward  to  explore  the  country, 
and  clear  paths  at  the  portages.  Arnold  was  gratified 
to  find  also  in  their  company  Jakins,  the  individual 
who  had  been  sent  into  Canada  with  the  Indians. 
He  had  explored  the  French  settlements,  and  brought 
a  very  favorable  account  of  the  people,  stating  them  to 
be  friendly  to  the  Americans,  and  rejoiced  at  the 
approach  of  the  army.  Arnold  now  detached  Cap- 
tain Hanchet  with  fifty-four  men,  to  march  by  land 
along  the  shore  of  the  lake,  and  himself,  with  sixteen 
others,  embarked  in  five  batteaux  and  a  birch  canoe, 
to  gain  the  settlements  as  speedily  as  possible.  In 
three  hours  they  reached  the  northern  extremity  of 
the  lake,  and  entered  the  Chaudiere,  which  dashed  its 
turbulent  waters  over  a  rocky  bottom,  boiling  and 
foaming  with  great  fury.  The  batteaux  were  swept 
down  the  stream  with  fearful  rapidity ;  and  they  had 
no  pilot.  They  shortly  fell  among  rapids ;  three  of 
their  batteaux  were  upset  and  dashed  to  pieces  against 
the  rocks,  with  the  total  loss  of  their  cargoes.  Six 
men  were  for  some  time  in  imminent  danger  of  drown- 
ing ;  but,  after  struggling  a  long  time  in  the  water, 
they  succeeded  in  saving  their  lives.  This  disaster, 
however,  saved  the  party  from  destruction.  For 
no  sooner  had  the  men  dried  their  clothes  and  re- 
embarked,  than  one  of  them,  who  had  walked  forward, 
cried  out,  "  A  fall  ahead  ! "  But  for  this  discovery, 
the  whole  of  them  must  have  been  hurried  to  instant 
death.  This  providential  escape  taught  them  caution ; 
vn.— 24 


278  ARNOLD'S  MARCH  TO  QUEBEC. 

but  their  whole  course  down  this  dangerous  stream 
was  marked  with  every  species  of  peril.  Rapids  and 
falls  were  continually  occurring.  The  canoe  ran 
upon  the  rocks  and  was  lost.  At  a  portage  of  above 
half  a  mile,  they  were  fortunate  enough  to  find  two 
Fenobscot  Indians,  who  assisted  them  in  passing 
round.  After  escaping  a  multitude  of  dangers,  they 
arrived,  on  the  30th  of  October,  at  Sertigan,  the  first 
French  settlement  on  the  Chaudiere,  seventy  miles 
from  Lake  Meganlic,  by  the  course  of  the  stream. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  main  body  were  advancing 
with  all  possible  speed  under  the  excessive  fatigues 
and  privations  to  which  they  were  exposed.  Their 
sufferings  were  now  augmented  to  an  alarming 
degree.  Incessant  toil  amid  cold,  rain,  snow  and  ice, 
had  almost  exhausted  their  strength ;  their  provisions 
gave  out,  and  famine  stared  them  in  the  face.  The 
few  dogs  in  the  army  were  killed,  and  afforded  the 
hungry  soldiers  the  last  meal  apparently  within  their 
reach.  Then  the  hides  of  the  dogs  were  devoured. 
After  this,  their  moose?skin  moccasins,  cartridge-boxes, 
breeches,  shoes,  and  other  articles  of  leather,  were 
boiled,  and  eaten,  to  save  them  from  absolute  starva- 
tion. Amid  such  incredible  sufferings,  they  crossed 
the  highlands,  and  proceeded  down  the  Chaudiere ; 
but,  exhausted  by  famine,  they  were  unable,  to  prevent 
the  total  destruction  of  their  batteaux  in  the  rapids  of 
that  river.  At  last,  on  the  third  of  November,  at  the 
very  point  of  starvation,  they  were  transported  with 
joy  at  the  sight  of  a  party  of  their  own  men,  who  had 
been  sent  back  by  Arnold  with  a  supply  of  provisions. 
The  next  day,  they  arrived  at  a  French  house,  where 


ARNOLD'S  MARCH  TO  QUEBEC.  279 

they  were  hospitably  received.  This  was  the  first 
dwelling  they  had  seen  for  thirty-one  days.  In  this 
unparalleled  march  they  traversed  a  distance  of  more 
than  three  hundred  miles  through  a  wilderness, 
against  rapids  and  falls,  through  tangled  woods, 
swamps,  and  morasses,  and  over  craggy  hills  and 
mountains.  All  their  powder,  except  what  they  car- 
ried about  them  in  cartridges  and  horns,  was  lost. 

The  whole  army,  emerging  in  detached  parties 
from  the  forests,  was  thus  assembled  in  Canada,  and 
appear  quickly  to  have  forgotten  their  losses  and 
sufferings,  in  their  ardor  to  prosecute  the  great  enter- 
prise which  they  had  undertaken.  The  Canadians 
received  them  in  the  most  friendly  manner;  they  s\ip- 
plied  them  liberally  with  provisions,  and  seemed  to 
wish  them  success  in  their  undertaking.  The  sudden 
appearance  of  such  a  body  of  men,  issuing  in  this  unex- 
pected manner  from  the  bosom  of  an  almost  impas- 
sable wilderness,  struck  them  with  surprise  and  aston- 
ishment. The  exploit  served  to  realize  the  tales  of 
romance;  and  the  old  Canadians,  who  dwell  in  the 
remote  and  sequestered  valley  of  the  Chaudiere,  re- 
count to  their  children  at  this  day  the  marvellous  tale 
of  the  "  descent  of  the  Bostonians,"  as  the  great  event 
that  has  marked  the  history  of  that  region. 

The  heffoic  courage,  firmness  and  resolution  of  this 
famous  band,  were  not  rewarded  with  a  proportionate 
degree  of  final  success  Ten  days  after  their  arrival 
at  Sertigan,  Arnold  reached  Point  Levy,  on  the  St. 
Lawrence,  opposite  Quebec,  and  the  whole  army 
rendezvoused  at  that  place  on  the  13th  of  November. 
The  approach  of  the  Americans  had  already  becomo 


2SO  ARNOLD'S  MARCH  TO  QUEBEC. 

known  in  Quebec ;  yet  so  great  was  the  panic  occa- 
sioned in  that  city  at  the  sight  of  Arnold's  troops,  that 
an  immediate  coup  de  main  would  doubtless  have 
carried  the  place.  The  British,  however,  had  secured 
all  the  boats  on  the  river,  and  the  Americans,  although 
in  sight  of  the  grand  object  of  their  expedition,  were 
unable  to  strike  the  important  blow.  After  some 
delay,  thirty  or  forty  birch  canoes  were  collected,  and 
Arnold  prepared  for  an  attack.  But  during  this  space, 
the  British  had  time  to  recover  from  their  surprise ; 
Quebec  was  put  in  a  state  of  defence ;  the  exaggera- 
tions respecting  the  force  of  the  Americans  were 
exposed,  and  Arnold  had  the  mortification  to  discover 
that  his  men  had  now  not  above  five  cartridges  of 
powder  apiece.  After  summoning  the  city  in  vain  to 
surrender,  he  marched  eight  leagues  up  the  river, 
to  await  the  arrival  of  General  Montgomery  from 
Montreal.  The  unfortunate  events  which  followed, 
form  a  mournful  page  in  the  history  of  our  revolu- 
tionary struggle. 


THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 


John  Hancock. 

To  what  individual  the  idea  of  the  independence  of 
the  British  North  American  colonies  first  seriously 
suggested  itself,  never  can  he  known.  It  has  been 
said,  we  do  not  recollect  upon  what  authority,  .that, 
before  the  breaking  out  of  the  revolutionary  troubles, 
Franklin,  then  on  a  visit  to  England,  was  one  day 
observed  sitting  on  the  bank  of  the  Thames,  and  gaz- 
24* 


282     THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 

ing  pensively  upon  its  waters.  On  being  questioned 
as  to  the  subject  of  his  meditations,  he  replied,  "  I  was 
thinking  of  the  strange  fact,  that  all  the  noble  rivers 
of  America  are  subject  to  this  little  stream."  This  is 
supposed  to  be  evidence  that  at  that  early  period  he 
indulged  in  grave  speculations  as  to  the  desirableness 
and  probability  of  separating  the  colonies  from  the 
mother  country. 

The  wishes  and  the  schemes  of  individuals,  how- 
ever, are  not  always  to  be  referred  to  as  the  causes  of 
important  events  of  this  nature ;  they  lie  much  deeper ; 
they  originate  in  more  general  springs  of  action,  and 
owe  their  full  development  to  nice  and  critical  con- 
junctures. When  the  American  colonists  first  took  up 
arms  against  Britain,  there  was  no  thought  of  inde- 
pendence ;  they  entered  into  the  contest  for  the  pres- 
ervation of  their  ancient  rights,  and  not  to  overturn 
their  existing  government ;  they  combated  in  the  first 
instance  upon  conservative  and  not  upon  revolutionary 
principles.  The  mother  country  was  the  original  inno- 
vator ;  the  colonists  resisted  innovation.  The  British 
ministry  entered  into  a  deliberate  design  to  alter  the 
government  of  the  colonies  without  consulting  them ; 
the  colonists  were  reduced  to  the  alternative  of  either 
changing  their  government  by  their  own  hands,  or 
submitting  to  a  change  imposed  upon  them  by  others. 
It  was  perfectly  natural  that  they  should  make  choice 
of  the  former. 

That  the  plot  of  the  British  cabinet  against  the 
.iberties  of  the  colonies  was  deeper  and  more  delibe- 
rate than  has  generally  been  imagined,  is  apparent 
from  the  following  anecdote.  The  celebrated  Metho- 


THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE.     283 

dist  preacher  Whitefield,  being  at  Portsmouth,  in  New 
Hampshire,  on  the  2d  of  April,  1764,  sent  for  Dr. 
Langdon  and  Mr.  Haven,  the  Congregational  minis- 
ters of  the  town,  and  in  a  private  interview  with  them 
made  the  following  statement :  "  I  cannot  in  con- 
science leave  the  town  without  acquainting  you  with 
a  secret.  My  heart  bleeds  for  America.  0,  poor 
New  England !  There  is  a  deep-laid  plot  against 
both  your  civil  and  religious  liberties,  and  they  will 
be  lost.  Your  golden  days  are  at  an  end.  You  have 
nothing  but  trouble  before  you.  My  information 
comes  from  the  best  authority  in  Great  Britain.  I 
was  allowed  to  speak  of  the  affair  in  general,  but 
enjoined  not  to  mention  particulars.  Your  liberties 
will  be  lost." 

The  stamp  act  excited  the  liveliest  indignation  in 
the  colonies,  and,  being  considered  illegal,  was  openly 
resisted.  The  violent  opposition  of  the  Americans 
caused  its  repeal  the  next  year ;  but  this  opposition, 
being  founded  upon  the  persuasion  of  its  unconstitu- 
tionally, was  not  considered  by  them  as  partaking  of 
a  revolutionary  spirit ;  there  were  yet  no  thoughts  of 
revolution  or  rebellion.  The  aggressions  and  vexa- 
tions which  followed,  did  not  prevent  the  colonists 
from  continuing  to  style  and  believe  themselves  the 
"  loyal  and  dutiful  subjects  of  the  king."  But  their 
remonstrances  to  the  British  parliament  were  unavail- 
ing ;  their  petitions  for  redress  were  spurned  from  the 
throne ;  aggression  followed  aggression,  exhibiting  a 
settled  design  on  the  part  of  the  British  ministry  to 
force  their  unconstitutional  measures  on  the  colonists 
at  all  hazards,  even  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  The 


284     THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 

colonists  took  up  arms ;  the  British  poured  their 
troops  into  the  country;  hostilities  broke  out;  battle 
after  battle  was  fought, and  the  Americans  found  them- 
selves arrayed  in  martial  strife  against  the  govern- 
ment to  which  they  professed  allegiance.  The  royal 
authority  had  ceased  in  all  the  colonies,  and  was 
replaced  progressively  by  that  of  the  people,  express- 
ing their  views  through  conventions  assembled  in  the 
several  colonies. 

Samuel  Adams  was  perhaps  the  first  to  suggest 
independence.  It  is  remarkable  that  this  distinguished 
leader,  as  early  as  his  twenty-first  year,  when  he 
commenced  Master  of  Arts  at  Harvard  College,  in 
1743,  proposed  this  question  for  debate  :  "  Whether  it 
be  lawful  to  resist  the  supreme  magistrate  if  the 
commonwealth  cannot  otherwise  be  preserved."  He 
maintained  the  affirmative.  When  the  affair  of  Lex- 
ington took  place,  he  pronounced  an  opinion  that  the 
contest  would  result  either  in  the  independence  or 
slavery  of  the  colonies.  John  Hancock  may  share 
the  celebrity  with  him.  The  following  language 
must  surprise  us  by  its  boldness,  when  we  consider  that 
it  was  uttered  by  Hancock  in  public  at  Boston,  when 
that  town  was  garrisoned  by  a  strong  body  of  British 
troops :  it  is  from  an  oration  commemorative  of  the 
fifth  of  March.  "  Some  boast  of  being  friends  to  gov- 
ernment. I  am  a  friend  to  righteous  government, — to 
a  government  founded  upon  the  principles  of  reason 
and  justice  ;  but  I  glory  in  publicly  avowing  my  eter- 
nal enmity  to  tyranny.  And  here  suffer  me  to  ask, 
what  tenderness,  what  regard  have  the  rulers  of  Great 
Britain  manifested  in  their  late  transactions  for  the 


THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE.     285 

security  of  the  persons  or  property  of  the  inhabitants 
of  these  colonies  ?  Or  rather  what  have  they  omitted 
doing  to  destroy  that  security  ?  They  have  usurped 
the  right  of  ruling  us  in  all  cases  whatever,  by  arbi- 
trary laws.  They  have  exercised  this  pretended  right 
by  imposing  a  tax  upon  us  without  our  consent,  and 
lest  we  should  show  some  reluctance  at  parting  with 
our  property,  their  fleets  and  armies  are  sent  to  enforce 
their  mad  and  tyrannical  pretensions.  The  town  of 
Boston,  ever  faithful  to  the  British  crown,  has  been 
invested,  by  a  British  fleet.  The  troops  of  George  the 
Third  have  crossed  the  Atlantic,  not  to  invade  the 
enemy,  but  to  assist  a  band  of  traitors  in  trampling 
on  the  rights  and  liberties  of  his  most  loyal  subjects ; 
those  rights  and  liberties  which,  as  a  father,  he  ought 
ever  to  regard,  and,  as  a  king,  he  is  bound  in  honor 
to  defend  from  violations,  even  at  the  risk  of  his  own 
life.  Dark  and  designing  knaves  !  murderers  !  parri- 
cides !  how  dare  you  tread  upon  the  earth  which  has 
drunk  the  blood  of  slaughtered  innocence  shed  by 
your  hands  ?  How  dare  you  breathe  the  air  which 
wafted  to  the  ear  of  Heaven  the  groans  of  those  who 
fell  in  a  sacrifice  to  your  accursed  ambition  ?  " 

Hancock  and  Adams,  the  two  chief  leaders  in  the 
revolutionary  movements  in  Massachusetts,  although 
their  political  principles  were  the  same,  and  their 
devotion  to  the  liberties  of  the  people  equally  ar- 
dent, differed  most  remarkably  in  manners  and 
appearance.  Adams  was  poor  throughout  his  life, 
and  while  occupied  with  the  most  important  and 
responsible  public  duties,  his  wife  was  laboring  with, 
her  hands  for  the  maintenance  of  his  domestic  estab- 


286     THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 

lishment.  He  was  a  man  of  incorruptible  integrity  ; 
and  when  the  British  minister  inquired  of  Governor 
Hutch inson,  why  he  was  not  bought  off  from  the 
opposition  by  an  office,  he  replied,  "  Such  is  the  obsti- 
nacy and  inflexible  disposition  of  the  man,  that  he 
never  can  be  conciliated  by  any  office  or  gift  what- 
ever." In  his  dress  and  manners,  he  exhibited  the 
utmost  simplicity  and  plainness. 

Hancock,  on  the  other  hand,  was  one  of  the  richest 
men  in  the  country.  He  maintained  a  splendid 
equipage,  altogether  surpassing  in  state  and  magnifi- 
cence anything  of  the  kind  known  at  present  in  the 
United  States.  His  dress  was  sumptuously  embroi- 
dered with  gold  and  silver  lace,  and  all  the  other  showy 
decorations  fashionable  among  men  of  fortune  at  that 
time.  On  public  occasions  he  rode  out  in  his  coach, 
drawn  by  six  beautiful  bay  horses,  and  attended  by 
servants  in  livery.  His  manners  were  graceful  and 
prepossessing,  and  he  was  devoted  to  what  were 
deemed  the  refined  and  elegant  pleasures  of  life, — to 
dancing,  music,  routs,  assemblies,  card-parties,  rich 
wines,  social  dinners  and  festivities,  all  which  things 
the  austere  republican  virtue  of  Adams  regarded  with 
indifference,  if  not  with  contempt.  Such  were  the  men 
who  were  combined  in  the  common  enterprise  of  giv- 
ing a  direction  to  the  first  popular  feeling  which  dis- 
played itself  on  the  subject  of  revolt  and  independence. 
They  were  both  at  Lexington  when  the  British 
marched  upon  that  town,  having  been  specially  exclud- 
ed from  the  king's  mercy  by  the  proclamation  of  Gen- 
eral Gage.  As  they  withdrew  together  after  the  con- 
flict at  that  place,  Adams  exclaimed  with  enthusiasrr.. 


THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE.     287 

"  Oh  !  what  a  glorious  morning  is  this !  " — in  the 
belief,  it  is  supposed,  that  it  would  eventually  lead  to 
independence. 

Such  a  persuasion,  however,  did  not  immediately 
take  possession  of  the  public  mind.  To  throw  off  at 
once  all  nominal  subjection  to  Great  Britain,  was  a 
bo  d  and  fearful  step,  and  one  for  which  the  minds  of 
men  were  by  no  means  prepared.  We  must  not  ap- 
ply to  the  conduct  of  the  people  of  that  day  a  stand- 
ard of  judgment  taken  from  our  own  times.  The 
history  of  the  whole  of  the  present  century  has  been 
little  more  than  a  series  of  revolutions  ;  we  are  famil- 
iarized with  such  events,  and  they  by  no  means  wear 
that  desperate  and  momentous  aspect  which  formerly 
characterized  them.  But  the  colonists  had  no  exam- 
ples to  encourage  and  guide  them ;  they  drew  back 
with  fear  and  distrust  from  the  contemplation  of  so 
bold,  novel  and  hazardous  a  project  as  that  of  setting 
up  an  entirely  new  a*nd  independent  government. 
Still,  the  increasing  exigencies  of  their  condition 
brought  them  nearer  and  nearer  to  a  crisis,  and  before 
long  they  became  prepared  for  the  decisive  step  by 
certain  considerations,  whick  are  lucidly  set  forth  in 
the  following  language  o(  a  writer  who  exercised  a 
vast  influence  among  tfie  colonists  at  that  time, — the 
author  of  a  series  of  papers  signed  "  Common  Sense." 

4  We  had  no  credit  abroad,  because  of  our  rebellious 
dependency.  Our  ships  could  obtain  no  protection  in 
foreign  ports,  because  we  afforded  them  no  justifiable 
reason  for  granting  it  to  us.  The  calling  ourselves 
subjects,  and  at  the  same  time  fighting  against  the 
prince  we  acknowledged,  was  a  dangerous  precedent 


288     THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 

to  all  Europe.     If  the  grievances  justified  our  taking 
up  arms,  they  justified  our  separation ;  if  they  did  not 
justify  our  separation,  neither  could  they  justify  our 
taking  up  arms.     All  Europe  was  interested  in  reduc- 
ing us  as  rebels  ;  and  all  Europe,  or  the  greater  part 
at  least,  are  interested  in  supporting  us  in  our  inde- 
pendent  state.      At  home,   our   condition  was  still 
worse.     Our  currency  had  no   foundation,  and  the 
state  of  it  would  have  ruined  whig  and  tory  alike. 
We  had  no  other  laws  than  a  kind  of  moderated  pas- 
sion ;  no  other  civil  power  than  an  honest  mob ;  and 
no  other  protection  than  the  temporary  attachment  of 
one  man  to  another.     Had  independency  been  delayed 
a  few  months  longer,  this  continent  would  have  been 
plunged  into  irretrievable  confusion,  some  violent  for 
it,  some  against  it ;  all  in  the  greatest  cabal ;  the  rich 
would  have  been  ruined,  and  the   poor   destroyed. 
The    necessity   of  being   independent   would    have 
brought  it  oil  in  a  little  time,  had  there  been  no  rup- 
ture between  Britain  and  America.     The  increasing 
importance  of  commerce,  the  weight  and  perplexity 
of  legislation,  and  tho  enlarged  state  of  European 
politics,  would  daily  have  shown  to  the  continent  the 
impropriety  of  continuing  subordinate  ;  for,  after  the 
coolest  reflection  on  the  mattei,  this  must  be  allowed, 
that  Britain  was  too  jealous  of  America  to  govern  it 
justly,  too  ignorant  of  it  to  govern  it  well,  and  too 
distant  from  it  to  govern  it  at  all." 

These  reasons  were  apparent  and  convincing  to  the 
more  sagacious  and  clear-sighted  among  the  popular 
leaders ;  but  these  men,  who  were  now  bent  on  throw- 
ing off  all  allegiance  to  Great  Britain,  had  many  obsta- 


THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE.     2S9 

cles  to  surmount  in  the  execution  of  this  design,  not- 
withstanding the  zeal  and  promptness  with  which 
their  measures  had  been  seconded  by  the  people.  Tho 
multitude  approved  resistance,  but  were  appalled  at 
the  thought  of  openly  asserting  their  independence. 
For  this  reason,  those  individuals  who  had  the  chief 
direction  of  affairs,  fearful  of  injuring  their  cause  by 
too  much  precipitation,  were  compelled  to  observe 
great  circumspection,  and  unfold  their  designs  gradu- 
ally. Massachusetts,  which  had  been  the  first  colony 
to  offei  resistance  to  the  British  government,  was  also 
the  first  to  take  strong  ground  in  favor  of  independ- 
ence. A  provincial  congress  of  this  colony  assembled 
at  Watertown,  and,  without  formally  discarding  all 
allegiance  to  Britain,  organized  an  entire  new  gov- 
ernment. The  other  colonies  displayed  much  back- 
wardness in  following  this  example,  but  ere  long  the 
same  movements  took  place  in  various  parts  of  the 
country.  Massachusetts  even  went  so  far  as  to  vote 
unanimously,  "  that  if  congress  shall  think  proper  to 
declare  the  colonies  independent,  this  house  will 
approve  of  the  measure." 

But  the  general  congress  at  Philadelphia  had  now 
taken  up  the  subject,  and  before  the  Massachusetts 
resolution  was  known  to  that  body,  the  question  of  in- 
dependence had  been  decided.  "  John  Adams,"  to  use 
the  language  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  "  was  the  pillar  of  inde- 
pendence on  the  floor  of  congress ;  its  ablest  advocate 
and  defender  against  the  multifarious  assaults  which 
were  made  against  it.  He  was  our  colossus  on  the 
floor ;  not  graceful  nor  elegant,  not  always  fluent  in 
his  public  addresses,  but  he  always  came  out  with  p 
s  vu. — 25 


290     THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 

power,  both  of  thought  and  expression,  that  moved  us 
from  our  seats."  On  the  6th  of  May,  1776,  Mr.  Adams 
brought  the  subject  to  a  trial  by  moving  a  resolution 
that  the  colonies  should  form  governments  independent 
of  the  crown.  This  was  in  substance  a  declaration  of 
independence:  and  on  the  10th  of  the  same  month,  the 
resolution  was  adopted  in  the  following  shape :  "  That 
it  be  recommended  to  all  the  colonies  which  had  not 
already  established  governments  suited  to  the  exigen- 
cies of  their  case,  to  adopt  such  governments  as  would, 
in  the  opinion  of  the  representatives  of  the  people,  best 
conduce  to  the  happiness  and  safety  of  their  constituents 
in  particular,  and  Americans  in  general."  The  way 
being  thus  prepared  by  this  bold  step,  a  proposition  for 
the  formal  declaration  of  independence  Avas  introduced 
by  Richard  Henry  Lee,  on  the  7th  of  June.  After 
some  discussion,  it  was  postponed  for  final  decision  to 
the  2d  of  July,  and  in  the  mean  time  a  committee  was 
appointed  to  prepare  a  declaration  of  independence. 
This  committee  was  composed  of  the  following  per- 
sons :  Thomas  Jefferson,  John  Adams,  Benjamin 
Franklin,  Roger  Sherman  and  Robert  R.  Livingston. 
The  instrument  was  drawn  up  by  Jefferson,  Adams 
and  Franklin.  The  original  draft  was  executed  by 
Jefferson ;  some  modifications  were  introduced  by  the 
other  members  of  the  committee,  and  it  underwent  a 
slight  revision  in  congress  while  under  discussion; 
but  none  of  these  alterations  affected  the  general 
character  of  the  document,  and  the  merit  of  the  per- 
formance as  a  state  paper  fairly  belongs  to  Jefferson. 
On  the  2d  of  July,  a  resolution,  declaring  the  colonies 
independent,  was  passed  in  congress,  and  on  the  ever 


THE    DECLARATION    OF   INDEPENDENCE.  291 

memorable  4th,  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  as 
it  now  stands  on  the  page  of  history,  was  formally  and 
unanimously  adopted.^1  We  subjoin  an  extract  from 
Mr.  Websters's  eulogy,  in  which  he  represents  the 
style  of  Mr.  Adams'  oratory,  and  the  arguments  by 
which  he  enforced  this  great  measure. 

"  Sink  or  swim,  live  or  die,  survive  or  perish,  I  give 
my  hand  and  my  heart  to  this  vote.  It  is  true,  indeed, 
that,  in  the  beginning,  we  aimed  not  at  independence. 
But  there 's  a  Divinity  which  shapes  our  ends.  The 
injustice  of  England  has  driven  us  to  arms ;  and, 
blinded  to  her  own  interest,  for  our  good,  she  has 
obstinately  persisted,  till  independence  is  now  within 
our  grasp.  We  have  but  to  reach  forth  to  it,  and  it  is 
ours.  Why  then  should  we  defer  the  declaration  ? 
Is  any  man  so  weak  as  now  to  hope  for  a  reconcilia- 
tion with  England,  which  shall  leave  either  safety  to 
the  country  and  its  liberties,  or  safety  to  his  own  life 
and  his  own  honor  ?  Are  not  you,  sir,  who  sit  in  that 
chair,  is  not  he,  our  venerable  colleague  near  you,  are 
you  not  both  already  the  proscribed  and  predestined 
objects  of  punishment  and  vengeance  ?  Cut  off  from 
all  hope  of  royal  clemency,  what  are  you,  what  can 
you  be,  while  the  power  of  England  remains,  but  out- 
laws ?  If  we  postpone  independence,  do  we  mean  to 
carry  on,  or  to  give  up  the  war  ?  Do  we  mean  to  sub- 
mit to  the  measures  of  parliament,  Boston  port  bill  and 
all  ?  Do  we  mean  to  submit,  and  consent  that  we  our- 
selves shall  be  ground  to  powder,  and  our  country  and 
its  rights  trodden  down  in  the  dust  ?  I  know  we  do 

*  This  celebrated  document,  which  may  be  considered  as  our 
Bill  of  Rights,  was  signed  by  all  the  members  of  congress 
present,  and  we  give  afac  simile  of  their  signatures. 


»vil 


25* 


294     THE  DECLAEATiON  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 

not  mean  to  submit.  We  never  shall  submit.  Do  we 
intend  to  violate  that  most  solemn  obligation  ever  en- 
tered into  by  men,  that  plighting,  before  God,  of  our 
sacred  honor  to  Washington,  when,  putting  him  forth  to 
incur  the  dangers  of  war,  as  well  as  the  political  haz- 
ards of  the  times,  we  promised  to  adhere  to  him,  in 
every  extremity,  with  our  fortunes  and  our  lives  ?  I 
know  there  is  not  a  man  here,  who  would  not  rather 
see  a  general  conflagration  sweep  over  the  land,  or  an 
earthquake  sink  it,  than  one  jot  or  tittle  of  that  plighted 
faith  fall  to  the  ground.  For  myself,  having,  twelve 
months  ago,  in  this  place,  moved  you  that  George 
Washington  he  appointed  commander  of  the  forces, 
raised  or  to  be  raised,  for  defence  of  American  liberty, 
may  my  right  hand  forget  her  cunning,  and  my  tongue 
cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth,  if  I  hesitate  or  waver 
in  the  support  I  give  him.  The  war,  then,  must  go 
on.  We  must  fight  it  through.  And  if  the  war  must 
go  on,  why  put  off  longer  the  declaration  of  inde- 
pendence ?  That  measure  will  strengthen  us.  It 
will  give  us  character  abroad.  The  nations  will  then 
treat  with  us,  which  they  never  can  do  while  we 
acknowledge  ourselves  subjects,  in  arms  against  our 
sovereign.  Nay,  I  maintain  that  England  herself 
will  sooner  treat  for  peace  with  us  on  the  footing  of 
independence,  than  consent,  by  repealing  her  acts,  to 
acknowledge  that  her  whole  conduct  towards  us  has 
been  a  course  of  injustice  and  oppression.  Her  pride 
will  be  less  wounded,  by  submitting  to  that  course  of 
things  which  now  predestinates  our  independence,  than 
by  yielding  the  points  in  controversy  to  her  rebellious 
subjects.  The  former  she  would  regard  as  the  result 


THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE.  295 

of  fortune ;  the  latter  she  would  feel  as  her  own  deep 
disgrace.  Why  then,  why  then,  sir,  do  we  not,  as 
soon  as  possible,  change  this  from  a  civil  to  a  national 
war  ?  And,  since  we  must  fight  it  through,  why  not 
put  ourselves  in  a  state  to  enjoy  all  the  benefits  of 
victory,  if  we  gain  the  victory  ? 

"  If  we  fail,  it  can  be  no  worse  for  us.  But  we  shall 
not  fail.  The  cause  will  raise  up  armies ;  the  cause 
will  create  navies.  The  people,  the  people,  if  we  are 
true  to  them,  will  carry  us,  and  will  carry  themselves, 
gloriously  through  this  struggle.  I  care  not  how  fickle 
other  people  have  been  found.  I  know  the  people  of 
these  colonies,  and  I  know  that  resistance  to  British  ag- 
gression is  deep  and  settled  in  their  hearts,  and  cannot 
be  eradicated.  Every  colony,  indeed,  has  expressed 
its  willingness  to  follow,  if  we  but  take  the  lead.  Sir, 
the  Declaration  will  inspire  the  people  with  increased 
courage.  Instead  of  a  long  and  bloody  war  for  resto- 
ration of  privileges,  for  redress  of  grievances,  for  char- 
tered immunities,  held  under  a  British  king,  set  before 
them  the  glorious  object  of  entire  independence,  and 
it  will  breathe  into  them  anew  the  breath  of  life. 
Read  this  Declaration  at  the  head  of  the  army;  every 
sword  will  be  drawn  from  its  scabbard,  and  the  solemn 
vow  uttered,  to  maintain  it,  or  to  perish  on  the  bed  of 
honor.  Publish  it  from  the  pulpit ;  religion  will  ap- 
prove it,  and  the  love  of  religious  liberty  will  cling 
round  it,  resolved  to  stand  with  it,  or  fall  with  it. 
Send  it  to  the  public  halls ;  proclaim  it  there ;  let 
them  hear  it,  who  heard  the  first  roar  of  the  enemy's 
cannon ;  let  them  see  it,  who  saw  their  brothers  and 
their  sons  fall  on  the  field  of  Bunker  Hill,  and  in  the 


296     THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 

streets  of  Lexington  and  Concord,  and  the  very  walls 
will  cry  out  in  its  support. 

"  Sir,  I  know  the  uncertainty  of  human  affairs,  but 
I  see,  I  see  clearly,  through  this  day's  business.  You 
and  I,  indeed,  may  rue  it.  We  may  not  live  to  the 
time  when  this  Declaration  shall  be  made  good.  We 
may  die ;  die,  colonists ;  die,  slaves ;  die,  it  may  be, 
ignominiously,  and  on  the  scaffold.  Be  it  so.  Be  it 
so.  If  it  be  the  pleasure  of  Heaven  that  my  country 
shall  require  the  poor  offering  of  my  life,  the  victim 
shall  be  ready,  at  the  appointed  hour  of  sacrifice,  come 
when  that  hour  may.  But,  while  I  do  live,  let  me 
have  a  country,  or  at  least  the  hope  of  a  country,  and 
that  a  free  country. 

"  But,  whatever  may  be  our  fate,  be  assured,  be  as- 
sured, that  this  Declaration  will  stand.  It  may  cost 
treasure,  and  it  may  cost  blood ;  but  it  will  stand,  and 
it  will  richly  compensate  for  both.  Through  the 
thick  gloom  of  the  present,  I  see  the  brightness  of  the 
future,  as  the  sun  in  heaven.  We  shall  make  this  a 
glorious,  an  immortal  day.  When  we  are  in  our 
graves,  our  children  will  honor  it.  They  will  cele- 
brate it  with  thanksgiving,  with  festivity,  with  bonfires 
and  illuminations.  On  its  annual  return  they  will 
shed  tears,  copious,  gushing  tears,  not  of  subjection 
and  slavery,  not  of  agony  and  distress,  but  of  exulta- 
tion, of  gratitude,  and  of  joy.  Sir,  before  God,  I  be- 
lieve the  hour  is  come.  My  judgment  approves  this 
measure,  and  my  whole  heart  is  in  it.  All  that  I  have, 
and  all  that  I  am,  and  all  that  I  hope  in  this  life,  I  am 
now  ready  here  to  stake  upon  it ;  and  I  leave  off,  as  I 
began,  that,  live  or  die,  survive  or  perish,  I  am  for  the 
Declaration.  It  is  my  living  sentiment,  and,  by  the 


THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE.     297 

blessing  of  God,  it  shall  be  my  dying  sentiment — in- 
dependence noio ;  and  INDEPENDENCE  FOREVER!" 

The  prophetic  spirit  of  Mr.  Adams  clearly  fore- 
shadowed the  momentous  consequences  which  were 
destined  to  flow  from  this  decisive  measure.  He  saw, 
by  a  piercing  glance  into  futurity,  that  a  great  empire 
would  in  after  times  look  back  to  this  day  as  the  day 
of  its  birth,  and  commemorate  it  as  a  national  anniver- 
sary. His  feelings  on  the  occasion  are  best  described 
in  a  letter  written  to  his  wife,  on  the  day  after  the 
Declaration  was  adopted.  "  Yesterday,"  says  he,  "  the 
greatest  question  was  decided  that  was  ever  debated  in 
America ;  and  greater,  perhaps,  never  was,  or  will  be 
decided  among  men.  A  resolution  was  passed,  with- 
out one  dissenting  colony,  '  That  these  United  States 
are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  free  and  independent 
states.'  The  day  is  passed.  The  4th  of  July,  1776, 
will  be  a  memorable  epoch  in  the  history  of  America. 
I  am  apt  to  believe  it  will  be  celebrated  by  succeeding 
generations  as  the  great  anniversary  festival.  It  ought 
to  be  commemorated  as  the  day  of  deliverance  by 
solemn  acts  of  devotion  to  Almighty  God.  It  ought  to 
be  solemnized  with  pomp,  shows,  games,  sports,  guns, 
bells,  bonfires  and  illuminations,  from  one  end  of  the 
continent  to  the  other,  from  this  time  forward  forever. 
You  will  think  me  transported  with  enthusiasm,  but  I 
am  not.  I  am  well  aware  of  the  toil,  and  blood,  and 
treasure  that  it  will  cost  to  maintain  this  declaration, 
and  support  and  defend  these  states.  Yet,  through  all 
the  gloom,  I  can  see  the  rays  of  light  and  glory.  I 
can  see  that  the  end  is  worth  more  than  all  the  means ; 
and  that  posterity  will  triumph,  although  you  and  I 
may  rue,  which  I  hope  we  shall  not." 


ARNOLD'S  TREASON. 

THE  attempt  of  General  Arnold  to  betray  the  impor- 
tant post  of  West  Point  into  the  hands  of  the  British, 
is  one  of  the  most  memorable  events  in  the  war  of  the 
American  revolution.  Had  this  plot  succeeded,  it 
would  probably  have  resulted  in  the  total  ruin  of 
Washington's  army,  and  possibly  the  complete  subju- 
gation of  the  colonies.  Five  years  of  incessant  hos- 
tilities had  passed  without  securing  any  permanent 
advantage  to  the  British  arms,  when,  in  a  single 
instant,  a  blow  was  on  the  point  of  being  secretly 
struck,  which  threatened  the  existence  of  American 
liberty.  That  which  armies  had  failed  to  accomplish, 
was  now  about  to  be  attempted  by  the  machinations 
of  a  traitor;  and  this  individual  was  one  whose  bril- 
liant achievements  had  given  him  a  high  place  in  the 
annals  of  fame. 

Arnold  was  a  soldier  of  undisputed  courage,  but  he 
was  mercenary  and  unprincipled  at  heart.  In  the 
midst  of  the  privations  and  distresses  that  surrounded 
the  Americans  in  their  heroic  struggle  for  freedom, 
he  could  not  keep  his  hands  clear  of  peculation.  For 
an  act  of  this  nature,  a  court-martial  sentenced  him  to 
be  reprimanded  by  the  commander-in-chief.  This 
judgment  was  executed  by  Washington,  with  so  much 
delicacy,  as  well  as  dignity  and  propriety,  that  we 
cannot  refrain  from  copying  his  words  :  "  Our  profes- 


ARNOLD'S  TREASON.  299 

sion  is  the  chastest  of  all.  The  shadow  of  a  fault 
tarnishes  our  most  brilliant  actions.  The  least  inad- 
vertence may  cause  us  to  lose  that  public  favor  which 
is  so  hard  to  be  gained.  I  reprimand  you  for  having 
forgotten,  that  in  proportion  as  you  had  rendered 
yourself  formidable  to  our  enemies,  you  should  have 
shown  moderation  towards  our  citizens.  Exhibit 
again  those  splendid  qualities  which  have  placed  you 
in  the  rank  of  our  most  distinguished  generals.  As 
far  as  it  shall  be  in  my  power,  I  will  myself  furnish 
you  with  opportunities  for  regaining  the  esteem  which 
you  have  formerly  enjoyed." 

But  Arnold,  obstinate  and  vindictive,  was  not  moved, 
as  a  man  of  noble  sentiments  and  generous  mind 
would  have  been,  by  the  frank  appeal  of  a  companion 
in  arms.  His  honor,  in  fact,  was  already  lost.  He 
had,  previous  to  this  event,  begun  secret  intrigues  with 
the  enemy,  under  a  feigned  name,  with  the  design  of 
acting  according  to  circumstances,  and  to  take  his 
revenge,  should  the  court-martial  decide  against  him. 
Love  of  country,  regard  for  his  fame,  virtue,  sincerity, 
truth — all  were  now  cast  to  the  winds.  The  execra- 
ble scheme  of  betraying  his  country  became  the  sole 
object  of  his  thoughts,  and  he  delayed  his  treason 
only  till  he  had  studied  how  to  strike  the  most  effect- 
ual blow,  and  reap  the  highest  reward  for  his  guilt. 

Practising  a  deep  dissimulation,  he  continued  to 
feign  a  fervent  zeal  in  the  cause  of  independence,  and 
was  restored  to  his  rank  in  the  army.  During  the 
summer  of  1780,  he  asked  leave  of  absence,  on  the 
pretence  that  his  private  affairs  required  his  attention. 
Washington  readily  granted  this  request,  and  Arnold 


300  ARNOLD'S  TREASON. 

took  up  his  residence  in  Philadelphia.  As  he  had 
represented  himself  to  be  incapacitated  by  his  wounds 
for  the  services  of  an  active  campaign,  congress  gave 
him  the  command  of  the  forces  in  that  city,  and  he 
plunged  at  once  into  every  species  of  extravagance. 
He  hired  a  magnificent  house,  formerly  occupied  by 
the  Penn  family,  and  furnished  it  in  the  most  sumptu- 
ous manner.  His  play,  his  table,  his  balls,  his  con- 
certs, his  banquets,  would  have  exhausted  an  ample 
fortune.  His  own  funds,  and  the  emoluments  of  his 
office,  being  far  from  sufficient  to  support  him  in  his 
profusion,  he  soon  became  involved  in  debt,  and  his 
credit  speedily  declining,  he  was  driven  to  new  means 
for  the  indulgence  of  his  prodigal  habits.  He  betook 
himself  to  commerce  and  privateering ;  but  his  specu- 
lations proved  unfortunate,  his  debts  accumulated, 
and  his  creditors  tormented  him.  A  new  and  more 
audacious  plan  for  replenishing  his  purse  was  now 
projected,  and  he  hoped  to  do  this  by  means  of  the 
public  treasury.  He  presented  accounts  to  the  gov- 
ernment more  worthy  of  a  shameless  usurer  than  a 
general,  and  such  as  the  commissioners  appointed  by 
congress  refused  to  allow  until  they  had  been  reduced 
one  half. 

Nothing  was  now  left  for  him  but  to  carry  into 
effect  the  scheme  of  treachery  which  he  had  long 
meditated.  This  was  accelerated  by  a  domestic  affair 
which  occurred  at  Philadelphia.  He  had  not  been 
many  weeks  in  that  city  when  he  became  acquainted 
with  a  young  lady  of  great  beauty,  named  Shippen ; 
belonging  to  a  family  which  remained  in  Philadelphia 
after  the  retreat  of  the  British,  although  they  were 


ARNOLD'S  TREASON.  301 

disaffected  to  the  cause  of  independence.  This  lady 
was  lively  and  ambitious,  and  had  been  much  ad- 
mired and  flattered  by  the  British  officers.  Her 
acquaintance  with  Major  Andre,  was  on  so  familiar 
a  footing,  that  she  maintained  a  correspondence 
with  him  after  his  departure  with  the  British  troops  to 
New  York.  Arnold  was  smitten  with  her  charms, 
and  she  was  no  less  fascinated  by  the  splendor  which 
surrounded  him.  They  were  married,  and  this  con- 
nection brought  him  into  constant  intercourse  with 
several  persons  in  the  British  interest.  Nourishing 
vindictive  feelings  towards  congress,  these  were  in- 
flamed by  the  arts  of  those  around  him,  who  exagger- 
ated his  grievances,  and  plied  every  argument  that 
might  hurry  him  on  to  revenge.  His  wife  continued 
to  correspond  with  Andre,  and  this  afforded  a  conve- 
nient medium  of  communication  with  that  officer. 
Arnold,  through  the  hands  of  Andre,  made  certain 
advances  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  the  British  commander 
at  New  York.  He  did  not  disclose  his  name,  nor 
rank,  but  gave  sufficient  evidence  that  he  was  a  man 
of  consequence  among  the  Americans,  and  had  a 
knowledge  of  the  secret  springs  by  which  their  affairs 
were  regulated.  The  correspondence  continued  for 
eighteen  months,  and  Arnold,  who  began  by  merely 
announcing  his  disaffection  to  the  American  cause, 
from  that  proceeded  to  transmit  valuable  information, 
and  at  length  made  a  direct  offer  to  surrender  himself, 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  perform  a  most  important 
service  to  the  British.  Up  to  this  moment  he  had 
not  revealed  himself  to  his  confederate ;  his  hand- 
writing was  carefully  disguised,  and  he  called  himself 
vii.— 26 


302  ARNOLD'S  TREASON. 

Gustavus.  Clinton,  however,  after  weighing  all  the 
circumstances,  had  before  this  arrived  at  the  conclu- 
sion that  his  unknown  correspondent  was  General 
Arnold. 

West  Point,  a  strong  and  commanding  fortress  on 
the  Hudson,  was  a  post  of  such  importance  as  to  be 
denominated  the  "  Gibraltar  of  America."  Arnold 
cast  his  eyes  upon  this  place  as  the  most  valuable 
object  which  he  could  betray  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  To  gain  the  command  of  the  fortress,  he 
represented  to  Washington  that  his  wounds  were  not 
so  far  healed  as  to  enable  him  to  render  good  service 
in  the  field  or  remain  long  on  horseback,  and  that 
West  Point  was  the  only  post  at  which  he  could  do 
justice  either  to  himself  or  the  army.  Washington, 
whose  forces  then  occupied  the  eastern  bank  of  the 
Hudson,  and  who  had  a  prospect  of  soon  fighting  the 
enemy,  had  already  appointed  Arnold  to  the  command 
of  his  left  wing.  He  was  now  struck  with  surprise 
at  his  behavior,  so  inconsistent  with  all  that  was 
known  of  the  character  of  the  man.  and  could  not 
conceive  how  an  officer  of  his  known  courage, 
enterprise,  and  love  of  distinction,  could,  in  the  heat 
of  a  busy  campaign,  wish  to  shut  himself  up  in  a 
garrison,  where  there  was  little  scope  for  his  military 
talents.  He  had  previously  disregarded  several  hints 
which  Arnold  had  thrown  out,  indicating  a  desire  to 
obtain  this  command.  Surprised  as  he  was,  however, 
not  the  slightest  suspicion  of  treachery  occurred  to  his 
mind,  and  Arnold  was  entrusted  with  the  garrison 
at  West  Point. 

Clinton  now  saw  the  most  important  military  post 


ARNOLD'S  TREASON.  30H 

of  the  Americans  nearly  within  his  grasp,  and  eagerly 
urged  forward  the  scheme  proposed  by  Arnold.  That 
crafty  traitor  had  yet  observed  the  most  extraordinary 
precautions  to  avoid  detection.  His  treasonable  design 
was  opened  to  the  British  commander,  under  the  dis- 
guise of  a  commercial  speculation  ;  so  that  if  any  of 
his  letters  had  been  intercepted  by  the  Americans,  they 
would  have  seen  nothing  in  them  but  a  mercantile 
correspondence.  Before  taking  any  further  steps,  he 
determined  to  stipulate  for  the  reward  of  his  treason ; 
and  the  letter  from  Gustavus  to  John  Anderson,  the 
assumed  name  of  Andre,  in  which  he  drops  a  hint 
that  could  not  be  mistaken,  that  he  must  have  gold  for 
his  crime,  contains  the  following  passage.  He  speaks 
of  himself  in  the  third  person.  "  He  is  still  of  opinion 
that  his  first  proposal  is  by  no  means  unreasonable,  and 
makes  no  doubt,  when  he  has  a  conference  with  you, 
that  you  will  close  with  it.  He  expects,  when  you 
meet,  that  you  will  be  fully  authorized  from  your 
house ;  that  the  risks  and  profits  of  the  copartnership 
may  be  fully  and  clearly  understood.  A  speculation 
might  at  this  time  be  easily  made  to  some  advantage 
with  ready  money." 

Both  sides  proceeded  writh  caution.  Clinton  would 
risk  nothing  till  he  could  be  made  as  sure  as  possible 
of  his  object ;  and  Arnold  was  resolved  to  keep  back 
till  a  sufficient  sum  of  money  was  offered,  and  all  the 
terms  were  agreed  upon.  These  points  could  be 
settled  only  by  an  interview  between  Arnold  and  some 
one  in  the  confidence  of  the  British  commander.  The 
person  whom  Clinton  selected  for  a  service  which  was 
attended  with  such  melancholy  results,  was  Major 


ARNOLDS  TREASON. 


John  Andre,  Adjutant-  General  of  the  British  army, 
and  his  own  aide-de-camp,  a  young  and  accomplished 
officer,  of  amiable  manners,  who  appears  to  have  been 
universally  beloved  in  the  army.  Andre,  as  we  have 
already  stated,  was  the  medium  through  which  the 
intrigue  was  commenced,  and  it  was  by  Arnold's 
express  solicitation  that  he  was  selected  for  the  confer- 
ence. About  the  middle  of  September,  1780,  Wash- 
ington having  left  his  head-quarters  for  Hartford,  where 
some  affairs  demanded  his  presence,  this  opportunity 
was  seized  for  bringing  about  the  interview.  The 
British  sloop-of-war  Vulture  had  been  stationed  a  little 
below  West  Point,  to  facilitate  the  communication 
between  the  parties.  Arnold's  evil  conscience  had 
nearly  betrayed  him,  just  before  the  departure  of 
Washington.  The  commander-in-chief,  with  his  suite, 
were  crossing  the  Hudson  in  Arnold's  barge,  and 
passed  within  full  view  of  the  Vulture.  While  Wash- 
ington was  looking  at  her  through  his  glass,  and  con- 
versing in  a  low  tone  of  voice  to  those  near  him,  Arnold 
manifested  great  uneasiness  and  emotion  ;  a  circum- 
stance which  was  afterwards  called  to  recollection. 
This  was  not  the  only  instance  in  which  he  came 
near  exciting  fatal  suspicions.  '  The  French  fleet, 
under  the  Count  de  Guichen,  was  daily  expected  ;  and 
as  the  conversation  turned  upon  that  topic,  Lafayette 
jestingly  remarked,  "  General  Arnold,  as  you  have  a 
correspondence  with  the  enemy,  you  must  ascertain 
as  soon  as  possible  what  has  become  of  Guichen." 
This  was  only  an  allusion  to  an  exchange  of  news- 
papers which  was  carried  on  between  West  Point  and 
New  York  ;  but  Arnold,  taken  unawares,  manifested 


ARNOLD'S  TREASON.  305 

great  confusion,  and  hastily  demanded  what  he  meant. 
However,  he  immediately  controlled  himself,  and  the 
boat  came  to  the  shore.  It  is  evident  that  he  thought 
his  plot  was  detected,  and  that  this  occasion  had  heen 
chosen  for  arresting  him. 

On  the  21st  of  September,  Andre  landed  from  the 
Vulture,  under  cover  of  the  night,  near  Haverstraw, 
on  the  west  bank  of  the  Hudson.  He  found  Arnold 
waiting  for  him  alone  in  a  thick  piece  of  woods.  A 
person  named  Smith,  who  owned  a  house  in  the 
neighborhood,  acted  as  the  go-between  in  this  affair, 
having  been  inveigled  into  it  by  Arnold,  v:ho,  as  he 
affirms,  kept  him  in  ignorance  of  its  truf,  character. 
Arnold  and  Andre  passed  the  whole  uight  in  the 
woods,  and  the  dawn  surprised  them  before  they  had 
made  all  their  arrangements.  They  adjourned  to 
Smith's  house,  where  they  had  no  so'Oner  arrived,  than 
a  heavy  cannonading  was  heard  down  the  river.  An 
incident  had  occurred  which  had  an  important  effect 
in  giving  a  turn  to  the  business  in  hand.  Colonel 
Livingston,  who  commanded  the  American  fort  at 
Verplanck's  Point,  received  intelligence  that  the  Vul- 
ture lay  within  cannon-shot  of  the  shore,  and  that  the 
inhabitants  were  afraid  her  boats  would  land  and 
commit  depredations.  He  accordingly  sent  a  party 
down  the  eastern  bank  with  cannon,  who  opened  a  fire 
upon  her.  Andre,  from  the  window  of  Smith's  house, 
saw  the  Vulture  enveloped  in  smoke  and  flame,  and 
it  was  believed  she  was  on  fire.  He  betrayed  great 
emotion,  but  at  length  the  firing  ceased,  and  he 
resumed  his  wonted  composure.  But  the  affair  had 
resulted  fatally  for  him.  The  Vulture,  unable  to 
T  26* 


306  AKNOLD'S  TREASON. 

drive  the  Americans  from  their  position,  was  compel- 
led to  fall  down  the  river,  out  of  the  reach  of  their  shot. 
Arnold  and  Andre  remained  in  an  upper  chamber 
of  the  house  through  the  day,  and  here  the  whole 
scheme  was  settled,  and  the  terms  agreed  upon.  The 
plan  was  as  follows  :  a  strong  body  of  British  troops, 
already  embarked  at  New  York  under  the  pretext  of 
an  expedition  to  the  Chesapeake,  was  to  be  kept  in 
readiness  to  ascend  the  Hudson  at  a  moment's  warn- 
ing. Arnold  was  to  make  such  arrangements  as  to 
weaken  the  garrison  of  West  Point,  and  compel  it  to 
surrender  at  the  first  attack.  This  was  to  be  done  by 
scattering  and  dividing  his  troops  in  such  a  manner 
that  they  could  not  act  in  concert,  nor  move  in  any 
direction,  by  which  any  effectual  resistance  could  be 
opposed  to  the  advancing  bodies  of  the  British.  Ar- 
nold furnished  Andre  with  several  papers  describing 
the  fortifications  at  West  Point,  giving  the  number 
of  the  troops  and  furnishing  directions  as  to  the  manner 
in  which  the  fortress  might  be  taken.  He  gave  also 
descriptions  of  the  several  forts,  redoubts  and  batteries 
on  the  river,  and  a  report  of  a  council  of  war  lately 
held  at  head  quarters,  comprising  hints  respecting  the 
probable  operations  of  the  campaign.  Departing  from 
his  usual  precaution,  Arnold  had  drawn  up  all  these 
documents  in  his  own  hand-writing,  without  any 
attempt  at  disguise.  It  was  a  singular  fatality  that 
he  should  have  exposed  himself  in  this  fool-hardy 
manner  at  the  most  critical  point  of  the  transac- 
tion, when  it  seems  there  was  not  the  slightest  neces- 
sity for  it ;  and  that  his  prudence,  craft,  and  foresight 
should  have  abandoned  him  at  a  moment  when  they 
were  most  essential  for  the  completion  of  his  plot. 


ARNOLD'S  TREASON.  307 

As  the  scheme  was  contrived  in  secret,  and  the 
British  government  could  derive  no  honor  by  publish- 
ing the  details  of  so  foul  a  transaction,  we  know  little 
more  of  the  stipulations  which  Arnold  made  in  his 
own  favor  than  the  fact  that  in  case  of  success  he  was 
to  he  paid  a  large  sum  of  money.  Every  point  being 
settled,  he  departed  for  West  Point,  and  left  Andre  to 
return  on  board  the  Vulture ;  but,  in  the  mean  time, 
that  ship  had  returned  up  the  river  nearly  to  her  for- 
mer station,  and  when  Andre  urged  Smith  to  send 
him  on  board  in  his  boat,  that  person  positively  re- 
fused, alleging  that  he  was  suffering  from  a  fit  of  the 
ague ;  though  the  true  reason  was  that  he  was  afraid 
she  would  again  be  fired  upon  from  the  shore.  An- 
dre passed  a  day  of  much  anxiety,  looking  from  his 
window  across  the  wide  expanse  of  Haverstraw  Bay, 
and  wishing  himself  on  board  the  Vulture.  It  is  sin- 
gular how  many  unforeseen  incidents  combined  to 
defeat  this  momentous  plan  of  treason.  But  for  the 
cowardice  of  Smith,  Andre  might  in  an  hour  or  two 
have  been  safe  on  board  the  ship,  and  West  Point  had 
been  irretrievably  lost.  Andre  at  length,  finding 
Smith  obstinate  in  his  refusal  either  to  go  himself  or 
let  his  boat  go,  saw  himself  under  the  necessity  of 
proceeding  to  New  York  by  land.  Arnold  had  fur- 
nished him  and  Smith  with  passports,  and  the  latter 
agreed  to  accompany  Andre  a  portion  of  the  way,  till 
he  should  be  out  of  danger. 

Andre  had  come  on  shore  in  his  uniform,  and  it 
was  necessary  to  disguise  himself.  He  therefore 
threw  off  his  regimental  coat,  and  put  on  an  old  one 
of  Smith's ;  with  this,  and  a  dark  great  coat  which 


303  ARNOLD'S  TREASON. 

had  a  wide  cape  buttoned  close  to  the  neck,  he  judged 
himself  sufficiently  transformed.  He  then  set  off,  just 
before  sunset,  accompanied  by  Smith  and  a  negro 
servant.  They  crossed  the  river  from  Stony  Point  to 
Verplanck's  Point,  and  were  not  interrupted,  till  about 
nine  in  the  evening,  when,  near  Crompond,  they  were 
stopped  by  a  sentinel,  and  carried  before  Captain  Boyd, 
who  commanded  a  patrolling  party.  He  questioned 
them  very  closely,  and  appeared  not  to  be  satisfied 
with  the  account  they  gave  of  themselves.  Andre 
began  to  be  alarmed ;  but  the  sight  of  Arnold's  pass- 
port in  a  great  measure  removed  the  suspicions  which 
had  been  excited.  Boyd  spoke  to  them  of  the  danger 
of  travelling  by  night,  and  advised  them  to  turn  back 
to  a  house  at  a  short  distance,  where  they  might  rest 
till  morning.  With  this  counsel  they  deemed  it  pru- 
dent to  comply.  Early  the  next  morning,  they  re- 
sumed their  journey,  and  having  got  beyond  the  reach 
of  the  patrolling  party,  Andre,  who  had  previously 
been  thoughtful,  reserved  and  anxious,  became  sud- 
denly animated,  cheerful  and  talkative.  He  thought 
himself  now  completely  out  of  danger.  No  person 
accosted  the  party,  and  at  Pine  Bridge  they  break- 
fasted at  the  house  of  a  Dutch  woman.  Smith,  believ- 
ing all  the  hazards  of  the  journey  over,  parted  from 
Andre  at  this  place,  and,  with  his  servant,  hastened 
back.  According  to  his  own  story,  he  was  ignorant 
up  to  this  moment  of  the  name  of  his  companion,  but 
supposed  him  to  be  Mr.  John  Anderson. 

The  eastern  shore  of  the  Hudson,  between  the  Brit- 
ish and  American  lines,  was  during  the  war  infested 
by  gangs  of  marauders,  who  plundered  the  whole 


ARNOLD'S  TREASON.  309 

debatable  territory.  Those  above  called  themselves 
"  Skinners,"  and  those  below  were  denominated  "  Cow 
Boys."  The  former  professed  an  attachment  to  the 
American  cause,  and  the  latter  claimed  British  pro- 
tection ;  however,  they  were  all  banditti,  and  plundered 
friends  and  foes.  Andre  was,  in  fact,  so  far  from 
being  secure,  that  thirty  miles  of  his  journey  now  lay 
through  the  territory  of  these  prowlers.  Smith  had 
advised  him  to  take  the  route  through  White  Plains, 
which  in  truth  was  much  the  safest,  but  Andre  chose 
the  latter,  through  Tarrytown,  believing  it  to  be  fre- 
quented by  the  British  party. 

Between  nine  and  ten  in  the  morning  of  the  23d 
of  September,  as  Andre  had  approached  within  half 
a  mile  of  the  village  of  Tarrytown,  he  was  suddenly 
stopped  by  three  men,  who  sprang  out  from  among 
the  bushes,  and  presented  their  muskets.  They  were 
Americans,  who  belonged  to  a  larger  party,  and  had 
taken  that  station  to  intercept  stragglers,  deserters, 
and  droves  of  cattle  that  might  be  going  to  New  York. 
Andre  asked  them  to  which  side  they  belonged ;  they 
answered,  "  The  Lower  Party."  "  So  do  I,"  returned 
he.  "  I  am  a  British  officer,  out  on  particular  busi- 
.ness,  and  I  hope  you  will  not  detain  me  a  minute."  In 
proof  of  this  assertion,  he  pulled  out  a  gold  watch.  The 
American  officers,  we  infer,  were  supposed  not  to  pos- 
sess articles  of  such  value.  The  men  ordered  him  to 
dismount,  which  he  did,  and  exhibited  Arnold's  pass, 
which  was  in  the  following  words  :  "  Permit  Mr.  John 
Anderson  to  pass  the  guards  to  the  "White  Plains,  or 
below  if  he  chooses,  he  being  on  public  business  by 
my  direction.  B.  Arnold,  M.  General."  The  men 


310  ARNOLD'S  TREASON. 

would  have  allowed  him  to  proceed  at  the  sight  of 
this,  had  he  not  previously  declared  himself  a  British 
officer ;  his  imprudence  and  want  of  foresight  in  doing 
this  are  most  remarkable.  The  three  men,  whose 
names  were  John  Paulding,  David  Williams  and 
Isaac  Van  Wert,  were  convinced  that  something  was 
wrong.  "  We  took  him  into  the  bushes,"  says  Wil- 
liams, "  and  ordered  him  to  pull  off  his  clothes,  which 
he  did;  but  on  searching  him  narrowly,  we  could 
not  find  any  sort  of  writings.  We  told  him  to  pull 
off  his  boots,  which  he  seemed  to  be  indifferent  about ; 
but  we  got  one  boot  off  and  searched  in  that  boot,  and 
could  find  nothing.  But  we  found  there  were  some 
papers  in  the  bottom  of  his  stocking  next  to  his  foot ; 
on  which  we  made  him  pull  his  stocking  off,  and 
found  three  papers  wrapped  up.  Mr.  Paulding  looked 
at  the  contents  and  said  he  was  a  spy.  We  then  made 
him  pull  off  his  other  boot,  and  there  we  found  three 
more  papers  at  the  bottom  of  his  foot  within  his  stock- 
ing. Upon  this,  we  made  him  dress  himself,  and  I 
asked  him  what  he  would  give  us  to  let  him  go ;  he 
said  he  would  give  us  any  sum  of  money.  I  asked 
him  whether  he  would  give  us  his  horse,  saddle, 
bridle,  watch,  and  one  hundred  guineas.  He  said- 
'  Yes,'  and  told  us  he  would  direct  them  to  any  place, 
even  if  it  was  that  very  spot,  so  that  we  could  get 
them.  He  said  he  would  give  us  any  quantity  of  dry 
goods,  and  any  sum  of  money,  and  bring  it  to  any 
place  that  we  might  pitch  upon,  so  that  we  might  get 
it.  Mr.  Paulding  answered,  '  No  ;  if  you  would  give 
as  ten  thousand  guineas,  you  should  not  stir  one  step.' 
I  then  asked  the  person  who  had  called  himself  John 


ARNOLD'S  TREASON.  311 

Anderson,  if  he  would  not  get  away  if  it  lay  in  his 
power.  He  answered,  *  Yes,  I  would.'  I  told  him 
I  did  not  intend  he  should.  While  taking  him  along, 
we  asked  him  a  few  questions,  and  we  stopped  under 
a  shade.  He  begged  us  not  to  ask  him  questions, 
and  said  when  he  came  to  a  commander  he  would 
reveal  all." 

Andre  was  immediately  conducted  to  North*Castle, 
where  a  military  post  was  established  under  the  com- 
mand of  Lieutenant  Colonel  Jameson.  That  officer, 
on  examining  the  papers,  found  them  to  be  in  the  hand- 
writing of  Arnold ;  yet,  with  such  plain  proofs  of  that 
person's  treachery  before  him,  Jameson  seems  not  to 
have  suspected  it.  He  despatched  Andre,  under  a 
guard,  to  Arnold,  with  a  letter,  stating  that  the  papers 
taken  upon  him  were,  he  thought,  "  of  very  dangerous 
tendency,"  and  that  he  had  sent  them  to  General 
Washington.  Jameson,  in  Washington's  opinion,  was, 
either  on  account  of  his  "egregious  folly  or  bewil- 
dered conception,  so  lost  in  astonishment,  as  not  to 
know  what  he  was  doing."  He  afterwards,  at  the 
urgent  entreaty  of  Colonel  Tallmadge,  the  second  in 
command,  recalled  the  prisoner,  but,  continuing  in  his 
blunders,  sent  on  the  letter,  informing  Arnold  that 
Andre  was  taken.  Arnold  was  seated  at  breakfast, 
with  his  family  and  aids-de-camp,  when  this  letter 
arrived  at  head  quarters.  He  opened  and  read  it, 
instantly.  Thunderstruck  at  the  intelligence,  he  yet 
had  sufficient  control  over  his  feelings  to  conceal  them 
from  the  persons  at  table.  He  told  his  aids-de-camp 
that  his  immediate  attendance  was  required  at  West 
Point,  and  ordered  a  horse  to  be  got  ready.  He  then 


312  ARNOLD'S  TREASON. 

rose  hastily,  went  to  Mrs.  Arnold's  chamber,  and  sent 
for  her.  In  a  few  hurried  words,  he  told  her  that 
they  must  instantly  part,  perhaps  forever,  and  that  his 
destruction  was  inevitable,  unless  he  could  reach  the 
British  lines  undiscovered.  At  this  intelligence,  so 
abruptly  communicated,  she  fainted,  and  fell  senseless 
on  the  floor.  Leaving  her  in  that  state,  he  ran  down 
stairs,  sprang  upon  a  horse,  and  galloped  to  the  bank 
of  the  river ;  there  he  entered  a  boat,  manned  by  six 
rowers,  and  ordered  them  to  pull  out  into  the  middle 
of  the  stream.  The  men  promptly  obeyed  his  orders, 
and  Arnold  informed  them  that  he  Avas  going  onboard 
the  Vulture  with  a  flag,  and  was  in  great  haste,  as  he  * 
expected  Washington  at  his  house.  The  boat  reached 
the  Vulture  without  being  molested,  and  Arnold  was 
safe. 

A  letter  written  by  Colonel  Hamilton  the  next  day, 
vividly  describes  the  afflicting  situation  of  the  traitor's 
wife,  who  was  frantic  with  distress,  and  seemed  on  the 
verge  of  distraction.  She,  for  a  considerable  time, 
entirely  lost  herself.  General  Washington  went  up 
to  see  her,  and  she  upbraided  him  with  being  in  a  plot 
to  murder  her  child.  One  moment  she  raved,  another 
she  melted  into  tears.  Sometimes  she  pressed  her 
infant  to  her  bosom,  and  lamented  its  fate,  occasioned 
by  the  imprudence  of  its  father,  in  a  manner  that 
would  have  pierced  insensibility  itself.  All  the  sweet- 
ness of  beauty,  all  the  loveliness  of  innocence,  all  the 
tenderness  of  a  wife,  and  all  the  fondness  of  a  mother, 
showed  themselves  in  her  appearance  and  conduct. 
We  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  she  was  entirely 
unacquainted  with  the  plan,  and  that  the  first  knowl- 


ARNOLD'S  TREASON.  313 

edge  of  it  was  when  Arnold  went  to  tell  her  he  must 
banish  himself  from  his  country  and  from  her  forever. 
She  instantly  fell  into  convulsions,  and  he  left  her  in 
that  situation. 

"  Whom  can  we  trust  now  ? "  exclaimed  Washing- 
ton, when  Arnold's  treason  became  known.  The  news 
of  this  event  caused  universal  amazement  throughout 
the  country.  The  people  could  scarcely  credit  the 
treachery  of  a  man  in  whom  they  had  so  long  placed 
the  utmost  confidence.  The  hazard  which  they  had 
run  filled  them  with  consternation ;  the  happy  chance 
by  which  they  had  been  saved  appeared  a  prodigy. 
Washington  apprehended  at  first  that  the  plot  might 
have  more  extensive  ramifications,  and  not  knowing 
on  what  individuals  to  fix  his  eyes,  was  much  embar- 
rassed in  the  midst  of  his  distrust.  He  feared  also 
lest  the  contagion  of  example  might  incite  even  those 
who  were  strangers  to  the  conspiracy,  to  entertain  rash 
desires  for  a  new  order  of  things.  But  his  apprehen- 
sions fortunately  were  not  realized,  and  nothing  oc- 
curred to  show  that  Arnold  had  any  accomplices. 

Andre,  having  been  captured  within  the  American 
lines  in  disguise,  was  tried  by  a  court-martial,  on  the 
charge  of  being  a  spy ;  he  was  pronounced  guilty,  and, 
agreeably  to  the  laws  of  war,  condemned  to  be  hanged. 
Great  efforts  were  made  by  the  British  commander-in- 
chief  to  save  him,  and  Washington  would  gladly  have 
spared  him,  if  Arnold  could  have  been  taken,  or  ex- 
changed for  him.  But  Clinton  refused  to  surrender  the 
traitor,  and  a  scheme  for  his  capture,  which  we  shall 
hereafter  relate,  having  failed,  Andre's  execution  was  a 
matter  of  stern  necessity.  No  spy  captured  by  the 
vii.— 27 


314  ARNOLD'S  TREASON. 

British  had  been  spared  during  the  conflict,  and  the 
sacrifice  of  Andre  was  a  melancholy,  but  a  just  retalia- 
tion. His  fate  wrung  tears  of  compassion  even  from 
his  judges.  His  frankness  and  amiability  had  won 
universal  esteem,  and  he  was  treated  with  a  for- 
bearance, kindness  and  delicacy  in  his  misfortunes 
which  called  forth  his  warmest  acknowledgments. 
Finding  his  fate  inevitable,  he  prepared  himself  for 
death  with  fortitude  and  calmness.  He  entreated 
that  he  might  die  like  a  soldier,  that  is,  by  being  shot, 
rather  than  hung  like  a  malefactor ;  but  the  stern  com- 
mand of  the  military  code  prescribed  the  halter,  and 
he  could  not  be  gratified  in  his  last  request.  He  was 
executed  at  Tappaan,  on  the  Hudson,  October  2d, 
1780.  His  last  words  were,  "  Bear  witness  that  I  die 
like  a  brave  man." 

Such  was  the  termination  of  a  treacherous  plot 
without  a  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  United  States. 
The  momentous  interests  connected  with  it,  and  the 
immeasurable  infamy  of  the  man  by  whom  it  was 
projected,  combine  to  make  it  a  story  of  the  deepest 
interest.  Arnold,  steeped  in  guilt  and  dishonor,  re- 
ceived from  the  hands  of  Sir  H.  Clinton  six  thousand 
three  hundred  and  fifteen  pounds  sterling,  in  part  pay- 
ment for  his  crime.  He  did  not  scruple  to  practise  a 
fraud  to  obtain  the  money,  and  made  the  British 
commander  believe  that  he  had  lost  such  an  amount 
of  property  by  abandoning  the  Americans,  while  in 
fact  he  left  little  behind  him,  except  his  debts.  His 
wife  was  permitted  to  join  him  at  New  York,  and  we 
believe  she  continued  to  share  his  fate  during  her  life. 
Arnold  was  made  a  brigadier  general  in  the  British 


ARNOLD'S  TREASON.  315 

service,  and  distinguished  himself  by  several  maraud- 
ing expeditions  against  his  own  countrymen  in  Con- 
necticut and  Virginia.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  war, 
he  went  to  England,  and  subsequently  to  New  Bruns- 
wick and  the  West  Indies ;  in  all  which  places  he 
lived  the  object  of  general  disgust  and  contempt.  He 
died  in  London,  where  he  had  resided  several  years, 
with  a  British  pension,  June  14th,  1801,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-one. 

The  treason  of  Arnold  gave  rise  to  a  very  bold 
undertaking  by  a  subaltern  officer  of  the  American 
army,  which  deserves  mention  in  this  sketch.  Shortly 
after  Arnold's  flight,  Washington  conceived  the  pro- 
iect  of  capturing  him  by  stratagem,  with  the  intention 
of  saving  Andre  if  he  should  succeed.  Accordingly 
he  sent  for  Major  Henry  Lee,  and  addressed  him  as 
follows  :  "  I  have  sent  for  you  in  the  expectation  that 
you  have  some  one  in  your  corps  who  is  willing  to 
undertake  a  delicate  and  hazardous  project.  Who- 
ever comes  forward  will  confer  great  obligations  on 
me  personally,  and  in  behalf  of  the  United  States  he 
shall  be  amply  rewarded.  No  time  is  to  be  lost ;  he 
must  proceed,  if  possible,  to-night.  I  intend  to  seize 
Arnold."  Lee  bethought  himself  a  moment,  and 
designated  a  sergeant  in  his  corps,  by  the  name  of 
Champe,  a  Virginian  of  tried  courage  and  inflexible 
perseverance.  Champe  was  sent  for,  and  the  plan 
laid  before  him.  He  was  to  desert,  and  escape  to 
New  York,  where  he  was  to  distinguish  himself  in 
professions  of  zeal  for  the  royal  cause.  In  the  mean 
time,  he  was  to  keep  a  watchful  eye  upon  Arnold,  and, 
upon  the  first  favorable  opportunity,  to  make  himself 


316  ARNOLD'S  TREASON. 

master  of  his  person,  and  conduct  him  to  an  appointed 
place  on  the  river,  where  boats  were  to  be  in  readiness 
to  convey  them  to  the  American  side. 

Champe  listened  to  the  proposal,  but  his  first  feel- 
ings were  those  of  repugnance  to  the  undertaking. 
He  replied  that  it  was  not  the  danger  nor  difficulty  of 
the  enterprise  that  deterred  him  from  immediately 
concurring  in  it,  but  his  mind  revolted  from  the  igno- 
miny of  desertion,  and  the  hypocrisy  of  enlisting  with 
the  enemy.  To  these  objections  it  was  replied,  that 
although  he  would  appear  to  desert,  yet,  as  he  obeyed 
the  order  of  his  commander,  the  act  could  not  be  con- 
sidered as  criminal,  and  if  he  suffered  in  reputation 
for  a  time,  the  matter  would  be  publicly  explained  to 
his  credit  in  the  end.  Moreover,  to  save  Andre, 
which  it  was  hoped  would  be  one  result  of  the  suc- 
cessful accomplishment  of  the  undertaking,  would  be 
a  deed  more  than  sufficient  to  balance  an  apparent 
wrong.  The  objections  of  Champe  were  at  length 
surmounted,  and  he  accepted  the  hazardous  service. 
It  was  now  eleven  o'clock  at  night.  With  his  instruc- 
tions in  his  pocket  the  sergeant  returned  to  camp,  and 
taking  his  cloak,  valise,  and  orderly-book,  drew  his 
horse  from  the  picket,  mounted,  and  set  off". 

Scarcely  half  an  hour  afterwards,  the  officer  of  the 
day  came  to  Major  Lee,  and  informed  him  that  one 
of  the  patrol  had  fallen  in  with  a  dragoon,  who,  on 
being  challenged,  put  spurs  to  his  horse  and  escaped. 
Lee,  hoping  to  conceal  the  flight  of  the  sergeant  till 
he  had  gained  sufficient  time,  complained  of  fatigue, 
and  told  him  the  patrol  had  probably  mistaken  a  coun- 
tryman for  a  trooper.  But  the  suspicions  of  the  officer 


ARNOLD'S  TREASON.  317 

were  not  so  easily  quieted.  He  withdrew  to  muster 
his  men,  and  on  examination  it  appeared  that  Champe 
was  missing.  Lee,  finding  that  his  desertion  could 
no  longer  be  concealed,  was  forced  to  give  orders  for 
his  recapture.  "  Pursue  him,  and  bring  him  back 
alive,"  said  he,  "  if  possible,  but  kill  him  if  he  resists 
or  escapes  after  being  taken."  Champe,  in  the  mean 
time,  found  himself  in  a  perilous  situation.  A  shower 
of  rain  fell  shortly  after  his  departure,  which  enabled 
the  dragoons  in  pursuit  to  mark  his  track,  the  horse- 
shoes being  made  in  a  peculiar  fashion,  and  each 
having  a  private  mark.  He  had  the  start  of  his  pur- 
suers by  little  more  than  an  hour.  During  the  night, 
the  dragoons  were  delayed  several  times  by  the  neces- 
sity of  examining  the  road,  but  in  the  morning  tht 
marks  of  the  horse's  shoes  were  so  apparent,  that  the} 
pushed  on  with  great  rapidity.  Their  course  wa& 
down  the  west  bank  of  the  Hudson;  and  as  they 
approached  the  village  of  Bergen,  on  gaining  the  top 
of  a  hill,  they  discovered  Champe  not  more  than  half 
a  mile  before  them.  Fortunately,  he  also  descried  his 
pursuers,  and  being  at  no  loss  to  conjecture  their 
object,  he  put  spurs  to  his  horse.  By  turning  off  the 
main  road,  he  got  out  of  their  sight,  but  on  approach- 
ing the  river  they  again  discovered  him.  His  situa- 
tion was  now  desperate ;  he  lashed  his  valise  to  his 
shoulders  and  prepared  to  plunge  into  the  river.  The 
pursuers  now  quickened  their  speed,  and  as  the  ser- 
geant gained  the  water's  edge,  the  dragoons  were 
within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  him.  He  threw  him- 
self from  his  horse  and  plunged  into  the  river,  calling 
aloud  to  some  British  galleys  which  lay  at  anchor  not 


318  ARNOLD'S  TREASON. 

far  off.  A  boat  was  instantly  despatched  to  his  assist- 
ance, and  a  fire  opened  from  the  galleys  upon  his 
pursuers.  Champe  was  taken  on  board,  and  carried 
to  New  York,  with  a  letter  from  the  captain  of  the 
galley,  describing  all  that  he  had  witnessed. 

The  pursuing  party  captured  the  sergeant's  horse 
and  cloak,  and  returned  to  the  camp  with  the  intelli- 
gence that  Champe  was  killed.  The  grief  of  Major 
Lee  was  past  description,  on  imagining  himself  the 
means  of  the  death  of  this  faithful  and  intrepid  soldier. 
It  was  not  long,  however,  before  his  mind  was  relieved 
by  the  intelligence  that  Champe  had  gained  the  quar- 
ters of  the  enemy,  where  he  was  carried  before  Sir 
Henry  Clinton,  and  closely  interrogated  ;  some  of  the 
questions  required  all  the  ingenuity  and  address  he 
was  master  of,  to  answer  without  exciting  suspicion. 
Clinton  gave  him  a  couple  of  guineas,  and  recom- 
mended him  to  Arnold,  who  was  wishing  to  procure 
American  recruits.  Champe  enlisted  in  Arnold's 
legion,  but  was  unable  to  mature  his  plan  before  the 
execution  of  Andre.  By  watching  Arnold's  move- 
ments, he  discovered  that  it  was  his  custom  to  return 
to  his  quarters  about  midnight,  and  that  previous  to 
retiring  to  rest  he  always  took  a  walk  in  the  garden. 
Here  Champe  determined  to  seize  him,  with  the  help 
of  a  number  of  associates  whom  he  had  drawn  into  the 
plot.  He  had  taken  off  several  of  the  palings  of  the 
garden  fence  and  replaced  them,  so  that,  without  noise 
or  delay,  an  opening  might  be  effected  into  the  adjoin- 
ing alley.  Into  this  alley  it  was  intended  to  convey 
Arnold,  his  mouth  being  secured  with  a  gag;  two 
persons  were  to  support  him  by  the  shoulders,  and 


ARNOLD'S  TREASON.  319 

thus  bear  him  through  unfrequented  streets  and 
lanes  to  a  boat  stationed  for  the  purpose ;  in  case  of 
being  questioned  by  the  watch,  they  were  to  repre- 
sent him  as  a  drunken  soldier  whom  they  were 
conveying  to  the  guard-house. 

On  the  day  appointed.  Gen.  Lee,  who  had  received 
'nstructions  from  Champe,  left  the  camp  with  a  party 
of  dragoons,  taking  with  them  spare  horses  for  Arnold 
and 'his  captors.  Proceeding  toward  the  bank  of  the 
river,  they  reached  Hoboken  about  midnight,  and 
concealed  themselves  in  the  woods.  Lee,  with  three 
dragoons,  took  his  station  near  the  shore.  Hour  after 
hour  passed  away,  but  no  boat  appeared,  and  at  day- 
break he  was  forced  to  return  to  camp  disappointed 
and  chagrined.  Jn  a  few  days  he  received  a  letter, 
informing  him  that  on  the  day  preceding  that  fixed 
upon  for  the  execution  of  the  plot,  Arnold  had  removed 
his  quarters  to  another  part  of  the  city,  and  that  the 
American  legion  had  been  transferred  from  their  bar- 
racks to  one  of  the  transports,  it  being  apprehended 
that  if  left  on  shore  any  longer  they  might  desert. 
In  consequence  of  this,  Champe  was  detained  on 
board  the  fleet,  and  obliged  to  accompany  Arnold  in 
the  expedition  which  he  shortly  afterwards  made  to 
Virginia.  He  was  under  the  necessity  of  remaining 
for  some  time  longer  in  the  British  service,  but  at 
lergth  succeeded  in  making  his  escape  and  rejoining 
his  countrymen.  His  unexpected  appearance  excited 
great  surprise  in  the  army,  but  when  the  story  became 
known,  their  esteem  for  him  was  heightened  by  admi- 
ration of  his  bold  and  arduous  attempt,  which  nothing 


320  ARNOLD'S  TREASON. 

but  an  unforeseen  accident  had  prevented  him  from 
bringing  to  a  successful  termination. 

The  story  of  Arnold  is  in  the  highest  degree  pain- 
ful, yet  it  has  not  been  without  its  use.  It  has  set 
before  the  world  a  lesson  never  to  be  forgotten,  show- 
ing the  danger  of  profligate  habits,  the  gulf  of  ruin  to 
which  loose  principles  of  action  lead,  and  the  everlast- 
*ng  infamy  which  awaits  the  traitor  to  his  country. 
Nor  is  this  all — a  shadow  so  deep,  as  is  furnished  by 
Arnold's  story,  serves  to  heighten  the  glorious  light 
which  falls  upon  the  patriots  who  figure  by  his  side 
on  the  page  of  history ! 


ADVERTISEMENT— CABINET  LIBRARY, 

PARLEY'S  CABINET  LIBRARY, 

For  Schools  and  Families, 

THIS  work  consists  of  Twenty  Volumes,  and  contains 
\CTjiije  hundred  different  subjects,  and  is  illustrated  by  fivt 
hundred  Engravings. 

tEJ"  It  is  an  entirely  original  series,  recently  written  and 
completed  by  S.  G.  GOODRICHJ  the  author  of  Peter  Farley's 
Tales. 

[[j3  This  is  the  only  library  that  has  been  expressly  written 
Jor  a  School  and  Family  Library.  It  is  adopted  into  many  of 
the  libraries  of  the  leading  schools  and  seminaries  in  New 
England  and  New  York,  and  has  been  introduced,  in  the 
space  of  a  few  months,  into  more  than  three  thousand  fami- 
lies, in  Boston,  New  York,  and  Philadelphia. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  Volumes,  each  containing 
about  320  pages,  16mo. :  — 

BIOGRAPHICAL  DEPARTMENT. 

Vol.  1.  —  LIVES  OF  FAMOUS  MEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 
"  2. —  LIVES  OF  FAMOUS  MEN  OF  ANCIENT  TIMES. 
"  3.  —  CURIOSITIES  OF  HUMAN  NATURE  ;  OR,  THE  LIVES 

OF  ECCENTRIC  AND  WONDERFUL  PERSONS. 
"    4.  —  LIVES  OF   BENEFACTORS;    INCLUDING  PATRIOTS, 

INVENTORS,   DISCOVERERS,  &c. 
"    5.  —  LIVES  OF  FAMOUS  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 
*'    6.  —  LIVES  OF  CELEBRATED  WOMEN. 

HISTORICAL  DEPARTMENT. 

"    7.  —  LIGHTS  AND  SHADOWS  OF  AMERICAN  HISTORY. 
'*    8.  —  LIGHTS  AND  SHADOWS  OF  EUROPEAN  HISTORY 
"    9.  —  LIGHTS  AND  SHADOWS  OF  ASIATIC  HISTORY. 
"  10.  —  LIGHTS  AND  SHADOWS  OF  AFRICAN  HISTORY 
"  11,  —  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 
"  12,  — MANNERS,  CUSTOMS,  AND  ANTIQUITIES    OF   THK 
AMERICAN  INDIANS. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

*'  13.  —  A  GLANCE  AT  THE  SCIENCES,  ASTRONOMY,  NATO 

RAL  PHILOSOPHY,  &c. 
"  14.  —  WONDERS  OF  GEOLOGY. 
"  15.  —  ANECDOTES  OF  THE  ANIMAL  KINGDOM. 
"  16.  —  A    GLANCE   AT   PHILOSOPHY,  MENTAL,   MORAL, 

AND  SOCIAL. 
*  17.  —  BOOK  OF  LITERATURE,  ANCIENT   AHD    MODERN, 

WITH  SPECIMENS. 


ADVERTISEMENT-CABIITET  LIBRARY. 

Vol.18.  —  ENTERPRISE,  INDUSTRY,  AND  ART  OF  MAN. 

*'  19.  —  MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  ALL  NATIONS 

t;  20.  —  THE  WORLD  AND  ITS  INHABITANTS. 

O"  These  works  are  designed  to  exhibit,  in  a  popular 
form,  SELECT  BIOGRAPHIES,  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN;  the 
Wonders  and  Curiosities  of  HISTORY,  NATURE,  ART,  SCI- 
ENCE, AND  PHILOSOPHY,  with  the  Practical  Duties  of  Life. 

It  cannot  be  deemed  invidious  to  say,  that  no  similar  work 
has  met  with  equal  favor  at  the  hands  of  the  public,  as  the 
following  testimonials,  among  many  others,  will  show  :  — 
The  Hon.  If.  G.  Otis,  of  Boston,  says,  June  4,  1845, 

I  view  it  as  the  best  compendium  of  useful  learning  and  information,  re 
specting  its  proposed  contents,  for  the  use  of  young  persons  and  schools, 
that  has  fallen  within  my  knowledge.  It  abounds  in  illustrations  of  the 
history  of  the  world,  and  the  customs  and  manners  of  nations,  that  may  be 
read  by  general  scholars  of  any  age,  with  pleasure. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Sprague  says,  Albany,  June  10,  1845, 
I  regard  the  Cabinet  Library  as  a  most  important  accession  to  the  means 
of  intellectual  and  moral  culture,  especially  in  respect  to  the  rising  genera- 
tion. But  while  it  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  young,  it  may  be  read  by 
persons  of  any  age  with  both  pleasure  and  profit.  To  men  of  business,  who 
have  not  leisure  to  read  extensively,  and  indeed  to  all  who  would  keep  up 
with  the  times,  the  work  is  invaluable.  It  is  also  suited  to  the  various 
members  of  the  family  circle,  $5=  and  is  among  the  very  best  of  the  libraries 
for  public  schools.  I  learn  that  it  is  introduced  into  the  public  schools  of 
this  city,  (Albany,)  and  various  other  places,  and  I  cannot  doubt  that  it 
will  ultimately  be  adopted  in  our  seminaries  of  learning  generally. 

Charles  Sprague,  Esq.,  of  Boston,  says,  June  24,  1845, 
I  have  read,  with  both  pleasure  and  profit,  all  the  numbers  of  your  very 
instructive  Cabinet  Library.  My  friend  and  namesake,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Sprague, 
has  so  exactly  expressed  my  "opinion  of  the  work,  that  I  need  only  adopt 
his  language,  in  recommending  it,  as  I  cheerfully  do,  to  the  favorable 
attention  of  both  teachers  and  learners. 

Front  the  Qtu'nq/  Patriot,  July  8. 

We  recommend  it  (Parley's  Cabinet  Library)  as  peculiarly  valuable  to 
families.  We  often  see  one  young  man  taking  precedence  of  others  in  the 
race  of  life.  If  we  could  read  his  history  minutely,  we  should  see  the 
explanation  of  the  case  to  be,  that  he  had  a  better  head  or  a  better  heart 
than  others.  Now  we  know  of  no  works  so  well  calculated  to  mould  the 
head  and  heart  aright  as  those  of  "  Peter  Parley." 

Those  parents  who  wish  to  have  their  children  "  go  ahead  "  in  life, 
should  place  Parley's  Cabinet  Library  within  their  reach.  We  have  never 
seen  a  work  better  suited  to  bestow  instruction,  or  that  inculcates  truth  iu 
a  more  pleasant  fashion. 

From  the  Boston  Courier,  July  3. 

They  are  exceedingly  agreeable  books,  and  such  as  young  and  old  may 
peruse  with  pleasure  and  profit.  The  moral  and  religious  account  to  which 
the  author  turns  every  subject  must  render  the  work  peculiarly  suitable 
to  the  family  and  the  school  library.  We  cheerfully  commend  the  work 
to  the  public  as  one  of  sterling  value. 

From  the  Boston  Jitlas,  May  3. 

It  is  a  compact  family  and  school  library  of  substantial  reading,  which  is 
delightful  in  point  of  style,  and  wholesome  in  its  moral,  social,  an<l  religion* 
tendency. 


ADVERTISEMENT— CABINET 

From  the  Boston  Post, 

We  hardly  know  when  we  have  been  better  pleased  with  a  publica- 
tion than  this. 

From  Hunt's  Merchant's  Magaiine, 

This  work,  now  complete,  is  the  most  elaborate  of  the  works  of  the  au- 
thor for  the  young ;  and  we  think  it  quite  the  best.  It  is  a  library  of  facts, 
and  seems  intended  to  cultivate  a  taste  for  this  kind  of  reading.  It  is  said 
that  "  truth  is  stranger  than  fiction,"  and  no  one  who  has  perused  these 
pages  can  feel  any  necessity  for  seeking  excitement  in  the  high-wrought 
pages  of  romance.  Every  subject  touched  by  the  author  seems  invested 
with  a  lively  interest;  and  even  dry  statistics  are  made,  like  steel  be- 
neath the  strokes  of  the  flint,  to  yield  sparks  calculated  to  kindle  the  mind. 
In  treating  of  the  iron  mar  ufacture,  —  a  rather  hard  subject,  it  would  seem, 
—  we  are  told  that,  every  "  working  day,  fifty  millions  of  nails  are  made, 
bought,  sold,  and  used  in  the  United  States  ;  "  and,  in  speaking  of  the  man- 
ufacture of  cotton,  we  are  informed  that  the  Merrimack  mills  of  Lowell 
alone  "spin  a  thread  of  sufficient  length  to  belt  the  world,  at  the  equator, 
in  two  hours." 

The  work  was  doubtless  intended  for  the  young ;  and  we  think  it  quite 
equal,  for  this  object,  to  any  thing  that  has  been  produced  ;  yet  it  is  also 
suited  to  the  perusal  of  all  classes,  especially  to  men  of  business,  who  find 
little  leisure  for  reading,  and  who  yet  are  unwilling  to  be  left,  behind  in 
the  great  march  of  knowledge  and  improvement.  Jls  there  is  now  a  strong  dc- 
s:*e,  especially  among  the  enlightened  friends  of  education  in  this  state,  to  have 
tht,  common  schools  supplied  with  suitable  books  for  libraries,  we  heartily  com- 
mend this  series  to  the  notice  of  all  who  are  desirous  of  obtaining  books  for 
this  object.  They  are  unquestionably  among  the  best  that  have  been  prepared 
for  school  libraries,  being  every  way  attractive  and  instructive. 

No  one  can  fail  to  be  pleased  with  the  simplicity  and  elegance  of  the 
style,  and  with  the  vein  of  cheerfulness,  humanity,  and  morality,  which 
runs  through  the  pages  of  the  volumes.  The  moral  influence  of  the  work, 
especially  upon  the  young,  cannot  fail  to  be  in  the  highest  degree  effective 
and  salutary. 

From  the  Troy  Whig, 

They  are  written  in  an  easy  and  graceful  style,  and  are  compiled  from 
the  most  authentic  sources.  They  will  be  found  highly  attractive  to  young 
people  of  both  sexes,  and  worthy  to  be  read  by  persons  of  mature  age. 

From  the  Albany  Advertiser. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  any  where,  in  such  convenient  compass, 
so  much  healthy  and  palatable  food  Jor  the  youthful  mind  as  is  furnished 
by  Parley's  Cabinet  Library. 

From  the  Jtlbany  drgus. 

We  know  of  no  series  of  volumes  on  kindred  subjects  so  good  as  these 
for  parents  to  put  into  the  hands  of  their  children.  It  is  due  not  only  to 
the  author,  who  has  rendered  great  service  to  the  cause  of  American  lit- 
erature, but  to  the  work  itself,  and  to  the  best  interests  of  the  youth  cf  our 
nation,  that  these  volumes  should  be  scattered  all  over  the  land. 

From  the  New  England  Puritan. 
We  cordially  recommend  the  work  to  the  perusal  of  all. 

From  the  Boston  Post, 

The  very  best  work  of  its  class  is  Parley's  Cabinet  Library.  It  combines 
a  vast  deal  of  useful  information,  conveyed  in  an  exceedingly  interesting 
etyle.  The  beauty  of  the  typographical  execution,  the  cheapness  of  the 
volumes,  and  the  great  intrinsic  merit  of  their  contents,  must  render  the 
work  one  of  general  popularity. 

From  the  Boston  Courier, 

As  we  havo  quoted  so  largely  from  Mr.  Goodrich's  work,  we  ought  to 
say--  what  it  richly  merits  —  that  it  is  a  pleasing  and  useful  Be  Ties,  and 


ADVERTISEMENT— CABINET  LIBRARY. 

liiat  it  is  calculated  not  only  to  instruct  and  amuse,  but  to  cultivate  virtu- 
ous and  patriotic  sentiments.  With  tl.ose  who  read  for  mere  amusement, 
it  is  worthy  of  attention,  for  the  author  has  ingeniously  contrived  to  give 
truth  all  the  charms  of  fiction. 

From  the  Albany  Advertiser. 

It  ought  to  be,  and  no  doubt  will  be,  extensively  introduced  into  schools 
From  the  Say  State  Democrat,  July  8. 

The  volumes  are  illustrated  with  spirited  wood  engravings,  and  printed 
in  Dickinson's  neatest  style.  Altogether,  they  present  decidedly  the  most 
attractive  appearance  as  to  matter  and  form,  of  any  works  we  have  seen  for 
a  long  time. 

From  the  Quincy  Aurora. 

Parley's  Cabinet  Library  is  a  publication  of  rare  excellence.  No  writer 
of  the  present  day  invests  the  themes  of  which  he  treats  with  livelier  inter- 
est than  the  well-known  Peter  Parley.  His  pen  imparts  to  history  and  biog- 
raphy the  charm  of  romance ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  it  unfolds  rich  and 
enduring  treasures  of  practical  and  useful  knowledge. 

The  animal,  the  mineral,  and  vegetable  kingdoms  of  nature  present, 
beneath  his  pencil,  the  attractions  of  a  grand  museum.  The  publication 
of  his  Cabinet  Library  will  accomplish  much,  in  our  opinion,  to  eradicate 
the  eagerness  for  fiction  which  engrosses  so  extensively  the  public  mind 
The  perusal  of  these  volumes  will  convince  the  reader  that  reality  has 
charms  as  potent,  and  far  more  satisfying  than  those  of  the  ideal  worhl. 
We  know  of  no  work,  comprehended  within  equal  limits,  capable  of  afford- 
ing richer  intellectual  banqueting. 

From  the  Boston  Traveller. 

We  deem  it  but  a  discharge  of  our  duty  to  our  readers,  to  urge  this  val- 
uable series  upon  their  attention.  The  whole  series  will  cost  but  a  trifle, 
yet  they  may  and  doubtless  will  be  the  deciding  means  of  insuring  suc- 
cess in  life  to  many  a  youth  who  shall  enjoy  the  means  of  reading  them. 

From  the  Boston  Recorder. 

They  are  written  in  a  pleasing  style,  and  are  enlivened  by  numerous 
characteristic  anecdotes.  The  series  will  form  a  very  valuable  library. 

From  the  Boston  Post,  May  27. 

It  is  an  admirable  publication  for  the  family  and  school  library.  Its  tsp- 
ics  are  interesting  and  important,  and  presented  in  a  simole  but  effective 
ctyle. 

From  the  Boston  Atlas,  July  8. 

Parieys  Cabinet  Library  is  worthy  of  all  encouragement.  It  is  cheap 
not  only  in  promise,  but  in  fact.  Jt  is  also  calculated  to  exercise  a  whole- 
some  influence.  Like  every  thing  from  the  same  author,  it  strongly  in- 
culcates virtue  and  religion,  and  at  the  same  time  it  arrays  truth  in  a  guise 
•o  comely  and  attractive,  that  it  is  likely  to  win  many  votaries  of  fiction 
to  companionship  with  it.  There  is  great  need  of  such  works  at  this  time 

BOARD  OF  EDUCATION,        / 
City  of  Rochester,  Sept.  2,  1844.  } 

Whereas,  the  Board  of  Education  have  examined  a  series  of  books 
called  "  Parley's  Cabinet  Library,"  now  in  course  of  publication  by  Samuel 
G.  Goodrich,  Esq.,  (the  celebrated  Peter  Parley,)  embracing,  in  the  course 
of  twenty  volumes,  the  various  subjects  of  history,  biography,  geography, 
the  manners  and  customs  of  different  nations,  the  condition  of  the  arts, 
sciences,  &c. ;  and  whereas,  this  Board  are  satisfied  that  the  same  are  high- 
ly useful  to  the  young :  therefore, 

Resolved,  that  we  recommend  that  the  same  be  procured  by  trustees  for 
the  several  school  libraries,  at  the  earliest  practicable  period.  A  true  copy 
of  the  minutes,  T  F.  MACK,  Sup'L 


A    001  263150    3 


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